Scott Murray's Blog, page 99

West Ham United 3-1 Watford: Premier League – as it happened

West Ham won the big relegation face-off with ease, blowing Watford away with a first-half, three-goal blitz

10.28pm BST

Jacob Steinberg was at the London Stadium to see this one. His verdict has landed. Enjoy that report, and thanks for reading this one. Nighty night!

Related: West Ham take huge step towards safety and push Watford closer to danger

10.26pm BST

A gleeful David Moyes takes his turn. “It didn’t feel very nice in the second half because Watford put us under loads of pressure. But we started the game brilliantly, the goals we scored were terrific and we gave ourselves a real chance. We’ve not defended as well as I’d like, but tonight we did. Our first-half performance was excellent, but so was our second half from a defensive perspective. We’re in a good position, but other teams still have a chance and we still have to do a job. If we can get to 40 points, we’ll have done it off our own back.”

10.18pm BST

Here’s Nigel Pearson, quietly fuming, which I think we can all agree is the most frightening sort of fume. “First half we let the game pass us by. They had three attempts and scored three goals. [Pulls face, pauses] We had passengers, unfortunately, and that is disappointing at this stage of the season. In the second half we were much improved, very competitive, but the game’s passed us by, and that is annoying and very disappointing. Now we’ve got to find another one, or possibly two, good results from our remaining games. But there’s no getting away from the fact that the result is bitterly disappointing. The performance in the first half is more than disappointing. I would expect better from our players, that’s not to say everybody and a lot of what I say stays in the dressing room. But it’s not about self-preservation, it’s about collective responsibility and I didn’t feel we had that in the first half. It’s now a case of finding solutions. The players will get honest feedback. Believe me, the players will go home tonight thinking they let this one drift past us.”

10.07pm BST

An extremely happy Declan Rice talks to Sky. “Jesus Christ! We started really well. Three great goals. But our second-half performance wasn’t good enough. We need to stop being in the comfort zone, dropping deep. But luckily enough we got the win. Tonight is massive, the fans were nervous and I’m so happy we could give them the three points. When I saw my shot hit the back of the net, it was a great feeling, to get one on a special night like this, I’m over the moon. We can’t say we’re safe yet, because it’s not mathematically done. It’s not over to the final day, and we’ll keep fighting. Special mention to the manager as well, they work 24/7 to get the best team out.”

10.00pm BST

Yep, West Ham are pretty much safe now. They’re six clear of the danger zone with two games to play, and no team has ever been relegated from such a position. They’ve also got a much healthier goal difference than Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Watford. Some very strange events would have to occur now for them to go down. Watford, though, are in bother. They’ve got three points on Bournemouth and Villa, but they’ve got to host Manchester City and travel to Arsenal, and goal difference is no longer their friend. Having said all that, Watford have been pulling off stunning victories over Arsenal for decades, so all is not lost. It’s going to be some scrap for survival, and it could well go down to the wire.

9.54pm BST

A huge and richly deserved win for West Ham, who steamrollered Watford in the first half, then weathered a brief second-half storm. They could easily have slipped into panic mode, but they held firm, and while Premier League survival isn’t guaranteed mathematically yet, they’re surely all but safe. And they celebrate accordingly with a big group hug. Watford, with two very difficult games left, are suddenly looking over their shoulder at Bournemouth, who don’t.

9.52pm BST

90 min +4: Antonio, who has done as much as anyone to keep West Ham in this division, is replaced by Balbuena.

9.51pm BST

90 min +3: Antonio takes it into the corner. Clever play, as time ticks on.

9.50pm BST

90 min +2: Watford hoick a couple of hail Marys into the West Ham box. The hosts deal with them easily enough.

9.48pm BST

90 min: Space for Gray down the left. One rush of blood later, and the ball’s sailing out of play on the right. There will be five more minutes of this.

9.47pm BST

88 min: Cleverley sends Sarr skating away down the right. He’s got Gray in the middle, but his low curling cross is no good, behind his team-mate, and Johnson is able to clear.

9.44pm BST

86 min: Pedro comes on for Welbeck.

9.44pm BST

85 min: Johnson wins a corner down the right. Nothing comes of it, but the clock ticks on.

9.43pm BST

84 min: “If Tom Shaw is covering both ears, what did he use to type his message? And was that why he was hiding behind the sofa?” Adam Hirst, ladies and gentlemen. He’s here all week. Try the pie and liquor.

9.41pm BST

82 min: Yarmolenko comes on for Bowen. Then Sarr curls in from the right. It’s a fiendish cross, but Gray takes a fresh-air swipe six yards out, then the ball clanks off a confused Welbeck and over the bar. What a chance to get the West Ham nerves jangling that was.

9.40pm BST

81 min: Sarr and Gray combine again down the right, Gray starting his run into the box from an onside position this time. He tries to pull back for Welbeck in the middle, but Ogbonna blocks and clears.

9.38pm BST

80 min: Watford pass it around in midfield, to no great effect. West Ham are perfectly happy to leave them to it.

9.37pm BST

78 min: Sarr and Gray try to make some space on the right with a crisp interchange, but the flag goes up for an offside. Watford have lost all of their early second-half momentum.

9.35pm BST

77 min: The clock ticks on, and West Ham edge ever closer to safety. Or being all but safe, at the very least. Not that their fans are taking anything for granted. “I was at Upton Park in about 1967 when we led Stoke City 3-0 at half time with a side that contained over a quarter of the World Cup winning team,” writes Tom Shaw. “We ended up losing 3-4. That memory has never left me, which is why I’m hiding behind the sofa with my ears covered right now.”

9.34pm BST

75 min: Antonio sashays down the left and curls in a cross with the outside of his right boot. Soucek heads over from close range.

9.32pm BST

73 min: A loose ball bouncing 30 yards from the Watford goal, with Foster in no-man’s land. Haller, with his first touch, loops over the keeper and towards the empty net ... but Foster, backpedalling furiously, gets a fingertip to the ball and sends it inches wide left. The resulting corner is a non-event.

9.31pm BST

72 min: The game restarts, both sides having made a change. Haller comes on for Fornals, while Chalobah replaces Doucoure.

9.30pm BST

71 min: Time for a drink. Hank’s Lookaround Cafe, anyone?

9.29pm BST

70 min: A corner on the right leads to one on the left. From that, Hughes and Sarr break upfield, combining down the right, but ultimately running the ball out of play for a goal kick.

9.27pm BST

69 min: Rice takes a belt from distance. The ball pings off the top of Dawson’s noggin and out for a corner.

9.25pm BST

67 min: Watford need to try something different, so Gray comes on for Deeney.

9.25pm BST

66 min: Watford continue to dominate possession, though West Ham have regained much of their composure.

9.23pm BST

64 min: Antonio chases a lost cause down the left and nearly strips the ball from a wandering Foster. The keeper just about ushers the ball out for a goal kick, but he had to strain every sinew to hold Antonio off. “I think Larry did want people to keep flipping,” argues Niall Mullen. “And also not to. He was a self-hating narcissist doing a job he loved but couldn’t stand. He wanted everyone to love him and leave him the hell alone.”

9.20pm BST

62 min: Cresswell blasts the free kick straight into the Watford wall. Very poor.

9.20pm BST

61 min: A Watford free kick, out on the right. Cleverley swings it long. Diop is forced to head out for a corner. From the set piece, Bowen breaks upfield at pace. He makes it all the way to the edge of the Watford box, where he’s unceremoniously barged to the ground by a clumsy Kiko. A dangerous position this, just to the right of centre.

9.18pm BST

59 min: Kiko fizzes a ball across the face of goal from the left. Neither Sarr nor Welbeck can extend a leg at the far post to turn it home. Another goal - and the momentum has changed - and West Ham will get the fear.

9.17pm BST

58 min: Cleverley quarterbacks again, and Dawson nearly cushions a header down to the feet of Deeney, on the penalty spot. Not quite.

9.16pm BST

57 min: Watford continue on the front foot. Cleverley crosses from the right, causing Fabianski to punch clear from a crowded box, albeit not in a particularly convincing fashion.

9.14pm BST

55 min: Sarr gets himself into a good position on the right, but floats a harmless cross out for a goal kick. Watford fancy this now.

9.12pm BST

53 min: West Ham have dropped 24 points from winning positions this season, the worst record in the division. Just sayin’. Meanwhile here’s Matt Burtz, asking the big questions: “If Larry didn’t want people to flip channels, why did he always demonstrate how to do it?”

9.10pm BST

51 min: West Ham respond by winning three corners. Nothing comes of any of them. There’s no way the goal tally of this match is stopping at four, though. It’s absurdly open.

9.08pm BST

Hello there. Deeney, on the left touchline, backheels to Welbeck who flicks Doucoure. Doucoure strides into the box and turns Ogbonna gracefully, before curling a gorgeous sidefoot around Fabianski and off the bottom of the right-hand post. Deeney calmly slots the rebound into the bottom right. Game on!

9.06pm BST

47 min: Watford are on the front foot immediately, Welbeck romping down the right, Sarr then winning a corner. Hughes takes, and Kabasele tries to guide a header into the bottom left. The ball flies just wide. A good chance.

9.04pm BST

West Ham get the second half underway. Watford have made a change: the left-back Masina is hooked. Kiko will move over to take his place, while Mariappa comes on as right-back.

8.52pm BST

Half-time entertainment. One thing we do already know: Leeds United are back. Louise Taylor explains how that interminable 16-year exile was brought to an end.

Related: Unity, trust and tactics, tactics, tactics: how Leeds made it back

8.49pm BST

As things stand, West Ham are all but safe, while Watford’s goal difference has taken the sort of hammering that will give Bournemouth and Aston Villa a boost going into the final two rounds of matches. Plenty of time yet for it all to change, of course. See you after the break. No flipping!

8.47pm BST

45 min +1: The resulting free kick is worked wide right to Kiko, who curls a fine cross towards Dawson. From six yards, the big defender whistles his header harmlessly over the bar, a huge chance to give Watford a little half-time hope spurned.

8.46pm BST

45 min: Johnson gives the ball away by the centre circle. Sarr goes racing off down the middle, with options either side, the West Ham defence backtracking in a panic. Rice takes a booking for the team, clipping Sarr cynically on the ankle.

8.44pm BST

44 min: Masina flings a long throw into the mixer from the left. A game of head tennis breaks out, and Bowen wins it.

8.43pm BST

42 min: West Ham appear happy enough to let Watford have the ball. The visitors are doing nothing with it.

8.41pm BST

40 min: Watford spend a bit of time in the West Ham final third, but the hosts hold their shape and there’s no way through. Watford desperately need something before the break if there’s to be any hope for them.

8.41pm BST

38 min: Watford are stunned. No wonder, that was a very strange goal. Not sure what Foster was thinking about; he wasn’t unsighted, but didn’t respond at all. Did he think the shot was sailing wide? He certainly started beating the ground with his big fists as the net rippled.

8.37pm BST

From the corner, Noble plays a pass back up the left wing for Rice, who drops a shoulder, drifts inside, and curls a stunner from 25 yards into the bottom right! That fairly flew in, the surprise element catching Foster flat-footed. Rice romps towards the bench and celebrates with his manager, smiles all round.

8.36pm BST

35 min: Hughes is booked for a cynical clip on Noble, who was busy instigating a break down the left wing. That happens after the referee plays on anyway, Fornals tearing upfield and winning a corner. An exercise in futility. Especially as ...

8.34pm BST

34 min: Bowen has a wee probe down the right but goes nowhere.

8.33pm BST

32 min: Sarr tries to cheer him up by bursting clear down the left. But just as he enters the box and shapes to shoot, Ogbonna extends a leg from behind and toe-pokes the ball away. Fine defence, but Sarr is causing West Ham all sorts of problems.

8.32pm BST

31 min: On the touchline, Nigel Pearson turns his back and delivers an unambiguous, thin-lipped, gloriously frustrated “for fuck’s sake”. Each syllable spat out with great feeling. Marvellous.

8.31pm BST

30 min: West Ham waste a corner by seriously overplaying. This game has lost all of its early rhythm.

8.30pm BST

29 min: VAR has a check for violent conduct after Sarr slaps Cresswell on the beak. He’s drawn blood, but the officials decide it’s accidental.

8.29pm BST

27 min: Cleverley dinks a cross in from the right. It twings off Ogbonna’s right shoulder. Watford want a penalty but they’re never getting it. Ogbonna was right next to his man, and didn’t move his arm at all.

8.26pm BST

26 min: Noble tries to find Bowen down the left with a raking long pass, but Foster is quickly out of the blocks, and his area, to blooter clear, just in time.

8.26pm BST

25 min: Everyone refreshed, the game restarts.

8.25pm BST

24 min: And that’s drinks!

8.22pm BST

22 min: Masina finds himself in a good position out on the left, but with team-mates in the box, attempts a strange first-time floater that balloons out for a goal kick.

8.21pm BST

20 min: Deeney barges his way across the face of the West Ham box, left to right, hoping space opens up for a shot. It doesn’t, so he slips Sarr away on the right wing. Sarr stands one up but can’t find Welbeck in the middle. Watford are carrying a threat, this is far from over.

8.20pm BST

18 min: Noble busies himself down the left but can’t quite open Watford up. The hosts aren’t taking their foot off the gas, despite that fast start.

8.17pm BST

16 min: Hughes creams a pass down the inside right to release Sarr into the box. Fabianski comes racing off his line and rashly bowls him over. It’d be a penalty ... had Sarr not gone too early. It’s a clear offside, though VAR faffs about unnecessarily, giving Watford false hope for a few seconds. We play on.

8.15pm BST

14 min: Rice feeds Bowen down the right. Bowen drops a shoulder to cut infield and attempts a curler towards the top left. Blocked. Both teams look dangerous going forward, not quite so assured at the back. There’s a reason this is a battle against relegation, I guess.

8.13pm BST

12 min: On the touchline, Nigel Pearson stands with his hands on his hips, half-stunned, quietly seething. His players try to respond positively again, Sarr creaming a shot straight at Fabianski from a tight position on the right. Cleverley tries to fire home the rebound but Ogbonna blocks. Some start, this. On another day, Sarr could have already bagged himself a couple.

8.11pm BST

Bowen knows how to cross a ball, and he swings in a stunning cross from the right. It’s right onto Soucek’s head. Soucek can’t miss, and plants his header into the top left. That was almost impossible to defend. What a ball from Bowen! What a start from West Ham!

8.09pm BST

8 min: That’s Antonio’s seventh goal since the restart. Watford try to respond positively, Kiko winning a corner down the right, but West Ham clear easily, and Cleverley ends up getting booked for dragging down Bowen and accidentally kicking him in the face. Dangerous play.

8.07pm BST

It’s that man again! Fornals attempts to release Antonio into the box down the middle. The ball deflects off Kabasele and bounces left. Antonio follows it and swivels, firing a confident low drive across Foster and in.

8.05pm BST

4 min: Deeney and Sarr combine at great speed down the left. Sarr slips the ball inside for Welbeck, but he’s given his team-mate too much to do, and Cresswell comes across to mop up. West Ham looked dangerously light at the back there.

8.03pm BST

3 min: But Antonio will be fairly confident too, on account of the four goals he plundered the other day against Norwich. What a performance that was. He tears past Kabasele on the left, reaching the byline and dribbling into the box, but takes a careless touch to send the ball out for a goal kick.

8.02pm BST

2 min: Watford stroke it around the back a bit. They’ve started confidently.

8.01pm BST

13 seconds: Sarr nearly gets on the end of a long ball down the middle. Clear in the box, he can’t control and it flies out for a goal kick. What a start that would have been!

8.00pm BST

Watford get the ball rolling ... but only after the players take a knee of solidarity. Black lives matter.

7.59pm BST

The teams are out! Both sport their first-choice clobber, West Ham in claret and blue, Watford in yellow and black. We’ll be off in a minute!

7.59pm BST

Congratulations to Leeds United, by the way. Their promotion to the Premier League has just been confirmed by Huddersfield’s 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion. That result also leaves the door open for third-placed Brentford, who haven’t been a top-flight force since their glory days in the 1930s. Anyway, the Fiver’s out of date now already. Bah.

Related: The Fiver | Dirty Leeds on the brink of a return to the Premier League

7.49pm BST

This pressure, then. A win tonight, for either team, won’t be enough to guarantee Premier League status next season. But it should all but secure it. West Ham and Watford are both on 34 points, three ahead of Bournemouth and Aston Villa, who have played a game more and have significantly worse goal differences. Victory would certainly settle some rattling nerves, because the final two games see the Hammers play Manchester United (a) and Aston Villa (h), while Watford face Manchester City (h) and Arsenal (a). No gimmes there. For the record, Bournemouth’s final matches are Southampton (h) and Everton (a), Villa’s Arsenal (h) and West Ham (a). Predictions are a mug’s game, though there’s nearly always one twist in the tail.

7.44pm BST

David Moyes speaks to Sky. “We’ve had some good games, some that aren’t quite as good. Both teams know exactly what they’re playing for, and we know any of us can win it. We’d like to get three points if we can, but I’m sure Watford will think the exact same thing.”

Nigel Pearson adds. “If the focus was on what is at stake, the players would be under even more pressure. What’s important tonight is that we recognise that it’s an opportunity to put more pressure on the teams below us. West Ham are in exactly the same situation. So yes it’s a big game but players still have to be able to perform. We’re going to make sure our preparation is right and the players will be free enough to go and play. Lots at stake, but it’s one game! Tonight’s the big game, because we’re playing today.”

7.13pm BST

Both teams will take encouragement from recent meetings. West Ham have won the last two games comfortably, 3-1 back in August, 4-1 last May. But those matches were both at Vicarage Road. The last time they met at the London Stadium, Watford ran out 2-0 winners.

7.09pm BST

Both teams are coming off the back of wins - West Ham 4-0 at Norwich, Watford 2-1 over Newcastle - so there’s only one change apiece. West Ham replace Ryan Fredericks at right back with 20-year-old Ben Johnson, while Watford switch midfielders Etienne Capoue with Tom Cleverley.

7.02pm BST

West Ham United: Fabianski, Johnson, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek, Bowen, Noble, Fornals, Antonio.
Subs: Balbuena, Yarmolenko, Felipe Anderson, Lanzini, Wilshere, Haller, Masuaku, Randolph, Coventry.

Watford: Foster, Femenia, Dawson, Kabasele, Masina, Cleverley, Hughes, Sarr, Doucoure, Welbeck, Deeney.
Subs: Gomes, Mariappa, Chalobah, Cathcart, Joao Pedro, Gray, Quina, Pussetto, Pereyra.

2.22pm BST

It’s 16th versus 17th, with 18th and 19th still within striking distance, a proper relegation six-pointer. There’s really no need to elaborate any further, it’d be putting a hat on a hat. It’s on!

Kick off: 8pm BST.

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The Fiver | Dirty Leeds on the brink of a return to the Premier League

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When Don Revie’s team were promoted from the old Second Division back in 1964, the FA took it upon itself to publish a table of the worst disciplinary records in the country. Who topped the list? You know damn fine well who topped the list. The Fiver didn’t make up Dirty Leeds, you know, don’t blame us. To be completely fair, they hadn’t had anyone at all sent off that season, the FA had massaged the figures by lumping in the record of their ill-disciplined junior team, and the only senior player at any point punished for acting up was Billy Bremner, which let’s face it should be taken as a given. But mud sticks and here we all are.

Related: Leeds one point from Premier League promotion after win over Barnsley

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Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester United: Premier League – as it happened

Palace were on the wrong end of a couple of close VAR calls, but United were cooler in front of goal and moved one step closer towards Champions League qualification

10.44pm BST

David Hytner was at Selhurst Park. His report is one click away. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night...

Related: Manchester United's Rashford and Martial sink luckless Crystal Palace

10.41pm BST

Roy Hodgson’s verdict. “The most difficult thing to take is to play so well yet lose the game. We played really well, and could so easily have been leading. It’s very hard to take, especially as there were a couple of issues that could easily have gone our way but didn’t. Referees, you never see them, they’re miles away. I thought the referee on the field could have given the penalty, the people in the office somewhere in Hounslow decided against it too. The other one is one of those hair-fine decisions that is hard to take. One is used to football without VAR, and when a ball is crossed along the six-yard line and someone slides in and scores, I don’t remember those goals ever being ruled out for offside. I’m bitterly disappointed, because that was something we didn’t deserve.”

10.32pm BST

Peter Walton is currently on BT Sport offering his observations on the two VAR decisions. Here’s a live stream.

10.25pm BST

That’s six defeats in a row for Palace, though when it all comes down, they’ll take heart from their performance tonight. They could so easily have had a couple of goals themselves. But it wasn’t to be. They stay in 14th on 42 points, one place and five points ahead of their great rivals Brighton. So life’s not too bad.

10.23pm BST

A word with United’s goal-scoring hero Marcus Rashford. “Every game for us now is a big game. Before the Southampton game we were scoring goals for fun, but that was a bit more difficult and so was this one. These type of victories you get a lot out of as a team, because you have to work double hard to get a result. Our patterns of play are positive, it’s what we’re looking to improve on. With VAR you don’t really know what to expect, but you can only react to the decision that’s made. It can be difficult at times for both teams. We’ve just got to go and win every game, so today was good to refocus.”

10.18pm BST

United’s unbeaten run stretches to 19 matches. They weren’t at their best today, but ground out the victory nonetheless. Palace will argue that the crucial decisions went against them ... but United were more clinical and classier in front of goal, and that was the real difference. United stay in fifth, but they’re right on Leicester City’s shoulder, and they’re a hell of a handful going forward. An exciting end to the season coming up!

10.16pm BST

90 min +11: Pogba thinks about a shot from 25 yards but ponders too long and is closed down.

10.15pm BST

90 min +10: “I was an early VAR supporter and defender,” begins Mary Waltz. “I also thought Brexit and Trump would lose. I say bin VAR.”

10.15pm BST

90 min +9: Martial tears down the inside left and enters the box. Dann toe-pokes away. Martial then goes over, asking for a penalty, but the referee waves play on.

10.14pm BST

90 min +8: Martial dribbles down the left and reaches the byline. He fires towards Lingard at the near post. There’s some pinball, and Sakho is forced to hack off the line. That would have been a farcical goal.

10.13pm BST

90 min +7: Fernandes whips the free kick towards the bottom left, but only ripples the side netting.

10.12pm BST

90 min +6: Rashford and Zaha tangle. Rashford grabs Zaha’s leg and refuses to put it down, but is awarded the free kick. Zaha is furious and it nearly kicks off between him and Pogba. The referee calms everything down quickly enough.

10.10pm BST

90 min +5: Fernandes is named man-of-the-match by Glenn Hoddle on BT Sport. And this on a comparative off-day. A properly transformative signing.

10.09pm BST

90 min +4: Maguire wins yet another header from a corner. Yet again he slaps it off target.

10.08pm BST

90 min +3: The referee acts now, though, as he shows Milivojevic a yellow card for arguing the toss a bit too forcefully. When the game restarts, Rashford tries a curler towards the top right. Guaita tips it over.

10.07pm BST

90 min +2: Lindelof knocks Ayew to the ground. Ayew screams and demands a free kick, but nothing’s forthcoming.

10.06pm BST

90 min +1: The first of 11 added minutes passes by without incident.

10.06pm BST

90 min: So now they go fairly direct, Dann sending a long pass down the inside right. Zaha spins Lindelof and races to the United box. He flashes a shot towards the bottom right. De Gea manages to turn it away for a corner that leads to nothing. Magnificent save.

10.04pm BST

89 min: Palace are enjoying a lot of possession right now ... but only in their own half. Every time they probe upfield they’re forced to turn tail.

10.03pm BST

87 min: Fernandes has really come into his own in these late stages. From the left of the D, he curls a shot towards the bottom left. Guaita does well to anticipate and claim.

10.02pm BST

86 min: Mitchell throws Lingard a dummy with a crisp Cruyff Turn. Not a bad way to introduce yourself to a match.

10.01pm BST

84 min: Palace send on two subs, replacing the stricken Van Aanholt and McCarthy with Riedewald and Mitchell.

9.59pm BST

82 min: Van Aanholt was Palace’s last-minute hero at Old Trafford earlier this season. Now he’s wheeled off in severe pain. Here’s to a quick recovery.

9.56pm BST

80 min: As Martial slotted home, he accidentally came together with Van Aanholt, who flipped over his back and landed awkwardly. Not sure whether he’s damaged his wrist, elbow or shoulder, but it’s a serious one because the stretcher is on and he’s been given oxygen.

9.54pm BST

Fernandes flicks the ball infield from the left. Rashford knocks a first-time pass down the channel for Martial, who strides into the box and slams a glorious drive into the bottom right.

9.52pm BST

76 min: United have steadied the ship now. Palace aren’t carrying the same threat now. Here’s Mark Childs: “After that VAR decision, I was curious and found this EPL page that explained the lines are drawn from one of five cameras. So, Ayew’s offside was obviously not a ‘clear and obvious’ error and the line was drawn from a camera placed about 8 yards away from the actual offside line. Absurd. Also, I think VAR should have given Palace a penalty for that Lindelof challenge in the first half. I’m a United fan.”

9.50pm BST

74 min: Rashford skedaddles down the left and pulls back for ... Fernandes. And you can’t keep a good man down. He takes a first-time smack towards the bottom left, totally foxing Guaita with a fine strike ... but the ball caroms off the base of the post and away. So unlucky!

9.48pm BST

73 min: Schlupp comes on for McArthur, and is quickly in the thick of it, dragging a shot wide right from distance.

9.48pm BST

72 min: Fernandes attempts a curler towards the bottom left. It’s always sailing wide. He’s been quiet tonight, Fernandes, verging on poor by his own stellar standards ... and yet he’s still got an assist to his name. He’s some player. What a signing.

9.47pm BST

70 min: We go again. “I completely agree about VAR, pretty much a disaster from the start of the season,” begins David Wall. “Given that, and I imagine a large majority of supporters, players, managers, etc agree, why is no one seriously considering just scrapping it from the end of the season? All I’ve heard is that now it’s here we have to just live with it and hope it gets better. But that didn’t apply to things that actually were beneficial (or would have been if they’d been applied for more than about two weeks), like the vanishing spray to mark where the wall should be, moving a free-kick forward if there was dissent, the Zenith Data Systems Cup, or the Anglo-Italian Cup. They went almost as soon as they appeared. Well, perhaps not the last one.”

9.45pm BST

69 min: As the players imbibe, Roy Hodgson takes a good old pop at the referee. Whatever could be on his mind?

9.44pm BST

67 min: Palace haven’t let their heads drop, to their great credit. They ping it this way and that, then Ayew tries to spin Maguire just inside the box. He tries to curl a pass around the corner to release Zaha, but the ball flies out for a goal kick. And that’s drinks.

9.41pm BST

65 min: Maguire is booked for a cynical tug at Ayew. “As a United fan, I can today speak against VAR without suffering accusations of bias,” writes Matt Richman from atop the high ground. “I hate it. That was scarcely an inch offside, to all human observers level, and was deserved.”

9.40pm BST

64 min: Zaha comes in from the right and curls a pass towards McArthur, in plenty of space to the left of the United D. He enters the box and should have a dig, but tries to thread a pass across to Ayew at the far post, and gets it all wrong.

9.38pm BST

63 min: United finally get Matic and Lingard on. They replace McTominay and Greenwood.

9.37pm BST

62 min: Martial breezes down the inside-left channel and feeds Rashford on the overlap. Rashford slams a low diagonal shot towards the bottom right, but Guaita is behind it all the way.

9.35pm BST

60 min: But play goes on before they can make their swap, and McCarthy takes a shot from the edge of the United D. He really catches it sweetly, but it’s straight at De Gea, who handles well.

9.35pm BST

59 min: United prepare to make a double change. Matic and Lingard - who scored the winner against Palace in the 2016 FA Cup final - wait on the touchline.

9.33pm BST

57 min: That’s a huge let-off for United, who haven’t really got going in this second half. Will that close shave wake them from their slumber?

9.32pm BST

Turns out Ayew didn’t cut his toenails last night, and the goal is chalked off. A couple of millimetres in it. It’s not Palace’s night with the old VAR.

9.31pm BST

This had been coming. Zaha twists Wan-Bissaka this way and that as he enters the box on the left. He fires towards the far post, where Ayew slides home. Easy as that!

9.29pm BST

53 min: Van Aanholt makes good down the inside left and tries to instigate a one-two with Zaha. Had he been given a return ball, he’d have been clear on goal. But Zaha decides to take over himself, and looks to curl into the top right. Maguire blocks.

9.27pm BST

52 min: Van Aanholt glides in from the left and takes a shot. It ping-pongs off a few bodies before nearly dropping at the feet of Zaha. Not quite, though. Lindelof and Maguire are in position to sort it all out.

9.26pm BST

50 min: Ward clumsily clanks McTominay to the ground out on the left. Fernandes flicks the free kick into the mixer. It skims off Milivojevic’s head, but doesn’t fall to anyone in gold, and Sakho is able to clear.

9.24pm BST

49 min: Martial burns past Sakho on the left and wins a corner. Fernandes gets two goes, but neither delivery beats the first man. Palace clear the second corner.

9.23pm BST

47 min: United will be looking to improve on their first-half performance, scoreline notwithstanding. They impose themselves with some calm possession in their own half.

9.20pm BST

It’s the second half! Palace get the ball rolling again. No half-time changes.

9.17pm BST

BT Sport have shown another angle of the Zaha-Lindelof incident. Lindelof did indeed touch the ball, but only after connecting with Zaha’s heel. Pundits Robbie Savage and Rio Ferdinand agree that it should have been a penalty. Palace will feel fairly aggrieved at that, then, especially as United went on to score the opener a couple of minutes later. The old sliding doors opening and closing like billy-o there. But whatever the rights and wrongs are of that particular decision, we can surely all agree on one thing: VAR has been a risible fiasco from the get-go, hasn’t it.

9.08pm BST

Half-time entertainment. For your aural leisure and pleasure.

Related: David Silva, Championship thrills and Twitter accounts – Football Weekly Extra

9.07pm BST

The half-time whistle goes just as the game really got going. United lead thanks to Rashford’s calm, controlled, measured finish. Two minutes before the net rippled, Zaha and Lindelof came together in the box, but replays suggest the United defender got a touch, which was why the referee wasn’t interested. And so here we are. It’s been a good game, and the second half promises to be a lot of fun. No flipping!

9.05pm BST

45 min +4: Milivojevic curls towards the top left. It’s going in, and De Gea does extremely well to claw it out for a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece.

9.04pm BST

45 min +3: Townsend has a smash. Maguire bravely gets in the road. Then Greenwood shoves Zaha over, just to the left of the United box. A free kick in an extremely interesting position.

9.03pm BST

In the first of four extra minutes, Fernandes drops back and dinks a gentle ball down the middle for Rashford, who enters the box, takes a touch to the left, drops a shoulder to sit Van Aanholt down, and passes the ball into the bottom right. What a gorgeous finish!

9.01pm BST

45 min: But the ball doesn’t go out of play. Wan-Bissaka fires a low cross through the Palace box. It misses everyone. But United come straight back at Palace, and ...

9.00pm BST

44 min: Milivojevic slips a pass down the inside-left channel for Zaha, who proceeds to turn Lindelof inside and out, like an old sock. Zaha enters the area. There’s contact, and Zaha goes down. But the referee isn’t interested in giving a penalty. VAR may take a second look when the ball goes out of play.

8.58pm BST

42 min: Fernandes threads a low shot inches wide of the left-hand post. Both goals are living a slightly charmed life at the minute.

8.57pm BST

40 min: Van Aanholt curls infield from the left. Lindelof clanks a dreadful clearance straight at Ayew, who belts a shot towards the top left. Lindelof is very grateful to see De Gea punch clear.

8.55pm BST

38 min: Fernandes sashays in from the left and sprays a diagonal ball towards Wan-Bissaka on the other flank. He crosses long and another corner’s won. Fernandes takes it from the left, and Maguire wins his third header from a corner, again leaping high over Sakho. He sends this effort wide right. Palace are asking for trouble here. Maguire’s likely to get one on target at some point.

8.52pm BST

36 min: Rashford swings a ball in from the right, forcing Dann to slide it out for a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece, other than a yellow card for Wan-Bissaka, who left one on McCarthy’s foot as the pair challenged for a loose ball.

8.51pm BST

34 min: Pogba and Greenwood nearly open Palace up down the inside right. Not quite. Pogba flicks the ball round McArthur then goes to ground, but he’s not getting the penalty he’s looking for.

8.48pm BST

32 min: Maguire has taken a whack upside the head. It requires a good once-over from the physio. After a long check, he’s good to go again.

8.47pm BST

30 min: This is most uncharacteristic behaviour from Greenwood. Martial comes in from the left and crosses low; Greenwood scuffs a scruffy shot wide right. Very strange; you’d expect the brilliant youngster to dispatch that clinically into the bottom corner.

8.45pm BST

29 min: Wan-Bissaka has a dig from the right-hand corner of the Palace box. His effort to score his first goal for his new club against his old club is blocked at source.

8.44pm BST

27 min: Maybe he’s been told to get central. McArthur dinks a cross in from the left. Zaha’s the man in the middle, but the cross is a little bit too high, and behind him, and he can’t get any power on his header.

8.43pm BST

26 min: During the break, Roy Hodgson gives Zaha a proper pep talk. More accurately, a Pep talk: he’s fully animated in the Guardiola style. He’s obviously seen something the winger can take advantage of. Let’s keep an eye out for that, then.

8.41pm BST

25 min: And that, my old MBM pals, is drinks. Squirty bottles all round!

8.39pm BST

23 min: Greenwood comes in from the right and is unceremoniously upended by McCarthy. Then Ayew clatters into Pogba. And finally McTominay climbs all over Ayew. This game is being fiercely contested. File under: hard but fair.

8.38pm BST

21 min: Rashford attempts a snapshot from the edge of the Palace box. Townsend gets right up in his grille to block, and takes a kick on the foot for his trouble. Both players crumble in pain; both get up soon enough, frowning and hopping awhile before moving on. That was a good old-fashioned blood-and-thunder 50-50 challenge.

8.35pm BST

19 min: Townsend is clumsily barged over by Pogba, out on the right wing. He gets up and takes the set piece himself, launching it long towards Sakho. The big defender can’t get a header goalwards. Palace launch another attack, Milivojevic looping down the middle. Dann tries to cushion a header down to the feet of Zaha, but his team-mate doesn’t read his intention in time, and the ball trundles harmlessly through to De Gea.

8.33pm BST

17 min: Zaha dribbles down the left and nearly busts his way into the box, but he slips at the crucial moment and the attack peters out. For a team who have lost five matches in a row, Palace are looking pretty confident right now.

8.32pm BST

15 min: Milivojevic creams a diagonal ball towards Ward, again free in plenty of space on the right. But there’s too much juice behind the pass, and it sails out for a goal kick. Fosu-Mensah, making his first start for United since 2017, has been caught sleeping a couple of times.

8.29pm BST

13 min: Ayew is nearly released by a long pass down the left, but the ball drifts out of play just before he reaches it. Had he got there in time, United were light at the back.

8.28pm BST

12 min: Martial wins a corner down the left, and Maguire certainly meets this one. He gets the leap on Sakho, but flashes it powerfully over the bar from close range. After a slow, uncertain start, United are beginning to make their presence felt.

8.26pm BST

10 min: But this is better from Wan-Bissaka, who makes himself available down the right. Rashford finds him. Wan-Bissaka wins a corner. Fernandes curls it in, towards Maguire, who doesn’t react when Sakho misses his header. The ball twangs off Maguire’s startled coupon, and Palace clear.

8.25pm BST

8 min: McArthur and Zaha busy themselves down the left. Wan-Bissaka hasn’t made the most confident start. He’s fortunate that Lindelof is on point, and that Palace over-elaborate when a no-nonsense attack looked on.

8.23pm BST

6 min: Fernandes dithers on the ball in midfield and is stripped of possession by Ayew. Palace flood forward. Dann crosses deep from the right. McCarthy heds down for Zaha, who considers a volley. Instead, the ball’s teed up for Van Aanholt, who has a smash from distance. His effort is blocked. United need to wake up here.

8.21pm BST

4 min: Zaha might be in the mood against his old club, you know. He glides down the left wing, momentarily threatening to go all the way to the box. But he loses confidence in himself mid-run and turns tail when faced by Lindelof. Still, he’s looking lively.

8.18pm BST

2 min: Palace are quickly on the front foot. Zaha tries to release Ward, in acres out on the right, but his pass fizzes into the stand. Then another phase, as Zaha sails in from the left, skips past Wan-Bissaka with great ease, and pearls one towards the top left. De Gea gets a strong hand behind it. A fast start by the hosts.

8.16pm BST

United get the ball rolling ... but not before all the players take a knee. Black lives matter.

8.12pm BST

The teams are out! Crystal Palace wear their red and blue stripes, while Manchester United sport second-choice gold. Not long now.

7.54pm BST

A big result just in, with implications for Manchester United. Leicester have bounced back from that farcical defeat at Bournemouth with a 2-0 win over Sheffield United. That’s a fine victory over obdurate opponents, and they’re now three points clear of United in fourth. The race for the Champions League looks like going down to the wire, and a possible final-day winner-takes-all showdown between Leicester and United. One way or another, it’s going to be dramatic.

Related: Leicester City v Sheffield United: Premier League – live!

7.47pm BST

A chat with Roy Hodgson. “If you analyse runs of results, there are always things you’re not that disappointed with, and others that you are. We’ve not exactly had the best of luck, we’ve made a rod for our own back in a couple of games by giving things away, but these things do happen. It’s important that we put on a good show, a good performance. I’m not sure what playing at home means any more! But our last home game was a good one against Chelsea and hopefully we can reproduce that tonight.”

7.40pm BST

A word with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. “We know what we have to do, come here on the front foot and start positive. That’s what we want to see in the beginning of the game. Timothy Fosu-Mensah has been waiting for his chance and will be ready. Scott McTominay has done a great job this season so we felt it was time to freshen up [the midfield]. We lost to Palace at home so we know how they can hurt you. Their front three are quick and skilful and can score a goal from nothing.”

7.24pm BST

Palace make two changes to the team that went down at Aston Villa last weekend. Andros Townsend and James McCarthy take the place of Cheikhou Kouyate, who drops to the bench, and Christian Benteke, who is suspended.

United make two changes to the side that conceded a late equaliser at home to Southampton. In come former Palace loanee Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Scott McTominay. Nemanja Matic drops to the bench, while Luke Shaw is injured.

7.18pm BST

Crystal Palace: Guaita, Ward, Dann, Sakho, van Aanholt, Townsend, McArthur, Milivojevic, McCarthy, Zaha, Ayew.
Subs: Meyer, Kouyate, Hennessey, Schlupp, Kelly, Woods, Mitchell, Pierrick, Riedewald.

Manchester United: de Gea, Wan Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Fosu-Mensah, McTominay, Pogba, Greenwood, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford, Martial.
Subs: Bailly, Mata, Lingard, Fred, Dalot, James, Romero, Ighalo, Matic.

1.56pm BST

Ah yes, Crystal Palace against Manchester United. We’re all thinking about it, aren’t we, so here goes.

Continue reading...

Leeds United 1-0 Barnsley: Championship – as it happened

Leeds were forced to work hard for their narrow win, but are now one point away from a return to the promised land

7.01pm BST

Leeds celebrate accordingly. They know they’re nearly there, so close to a return to the big time. It’s been such a long wait - 16 years for one of the biggest clubs in the land - that you can understand the nerves they showed today. It’s results over performances at this stage, and those three points, ground out, have put them on the verge of glory. Pity poor Barnsley, though, who remain bottom and now need to win their final two matches to stay up, while hoping other results go their way. They looked anything but a relegation outfit, and will wonder how they didn’t get something out of this match. Their inability to convert one of many chances almost certainly tells a bigger story. Anyway, thanks for reading this MBM.

6.56pm BST

Leeds get over the line! They were made to work by an impressive Barnsley side - how on earth are they bottom? - but held out. And now they’re one point away from that long-awaited return to the Premier League!

6.54pm BST

90 min +5: Nervous, Leeds fans? Of course. We understand.

6.54pm BST

90 min +4: Shackleton immediately romps down the left and draws a foul from Sollbauer, who is booked. It’s not been the Barnsley defender’s day.

6.53pm BST

90 min +3: The sub Hernandez is hooked, and he’s beyond livid, kicking a water bottle as Shackleton comes on in his place.

6.52pm BST

90 min +2: Mowatt floats a dreadful free kick straight out of play. Goal kick.

6.52pm BST

90 min +1: In the first of four added minutes, Dallas has a whack from a tight angle on the right, then Hernandez is booked for a lunge on Styles.

6.50pm BST

90 min: Sollbauer flies in recklessly on Bamford, who was hoping to break into the box from the right. It’s surely a foul, though not a penalty, contact just outside the area. But the referee gives nothing. That’s a poor decision, not least because Sollbauer launched himself into the air, both sets of studs showing. Bamford is highly irritated.

6.49pm BST

89 min: Chaplin reaches the byline out on the left, Leeds backtracking in a panic. But his cutback is aimless and hacked clear. This is proper fingernail-bothering stuff for Leeds fans.

6.47pm BST

87 min: Leeds are either deliberately sitting back, holding on to what they have, or struggling to get out of their final third, the choice is yours. Barnsley continue to probe.

6.45pm BST

85 min: Bamford, Alioski and Hernandez threaten to counter, launching a three-on-two attack, but over-elaborate and the flag goes up for offside. A big chance to threaten the Barnsley goal is carelessly wasted.

6.44pm BST

84 min: Another change for Barnsley. Oduor, formerly of the Leeds academy, replaces Williams.

6.42pm BST

82 min: Styles diddles Hernandez out on the left and suddenly he’s free. But having done all the hard and skilful work, he then slips over. Nothing’s working for Barnsley, who have tried pretty much everything.

6.41pm BST

81 min: Hernandez curls a cross in from the right. Bamford attacks the ball but Andersen gets there first to clear.

6.39pm BST

80 min: In midfield, Klich goes down easily near Andersen, who sarcastically applauds the fall. It earns the Barnsley centre-back a firm talking-to by the referee, but nothing more.

6.38pm BST

78 min: Barnsley take off Brown and throw on Schmidt.

6.36pm BST

76 min: Nothing comes of the resulting corner, but Barnsley come at Leeds again in short order, Brown crossing from the right touchline, Woodrow sliding in with a view to poking home. White’s last-ditch challenge diverts the ball out for another corner. One corner leads to another, and then Leeds finally mop up, but they surely can’t keep on like this. Barnsley have done absolutely everything but score.

6.35pm BST

74 min: Leeds are a ragged mess. Ludewig curls in from the right. Woodrow is in acres of space inside the area. He’s got more time than he thinks, and spins hectically before shooting towards the top right. Meslier is forced to tip over.

6.33pm BST

73 min: Barnsley continue to rat-a-tat at the door. A corner from the left drops to the feet of Woodrow, six yards out. Woodrow must score, but Cooper arrives from nowhere, channelling his inner Big Jack, to bravely block. Last-ditch brilliance.

6.32pm BST

72 min: A free kick for Barnsley out on the right. Mowatt swings it into the mixer. The ball drops towards Chaplin, who shapes to volley a screamer goalwards. Struijk intervenes just in time to clear.

6.30pm BST

70 min: Klich rolls a pass down the inside-left channel, hoping to release Bamford into the box. But Andersen sticks out a telescopic leg to guide the ball away from danger. That’s marvellous defence, because Barnsley were opened up there.

6.28pm BST

69 min: We go again.

6.27pm BST

67 min: Nothing comes of the resulting corner, and that’s drinks.

6.27pm BST

66 min: And then Leeds break quickly, coming so close to netting a precious second. Struijk releases Alioski out on the left, Alioski plays a glorious first-time diagonal pass towards Bamford, racing into the box from the right. Bamford fires towards the bottom right, but Walton turns the shot around the post. What a save! How on earth is this match still 1-0? It could conceivably be anything.

6.25pm BST

65 min: Thomas is unfairly checked out on the left and it’s a chance for Barnsley to load the box. Mowatt swings in the free kick, and Sollbauer tries to redeem himself by flashing a header goalwards. It’s straight at Meslier. So close to the equaliser.

6.24pm BST

63 min: Leeds are rocking a little. They lose the ball to Barnsley’s press, Thomas and Styles combining down the left to win another corner. Bamford clears this one too. The hosts are getting nervous.

6.22pm BST

62 min: Barnsley press down the left and win a corner. Styles takes. Bamford blooters a Charltonesque header miles upfield.

6.20pm BST

60 min: A defensive change by Bielsa, who is clearly concerned about Barnsley’s dominance since the break. Harrison makes way for Struijk.

6.18pm BST

58 min: Leeds ping it around, with a view to settling things down a bit. It’s a welcome lull for the hosts.

6.17pm BST

56 min: Thomas drives at the Leeds defence, and has a chance to tee up Brown to his left, but the pass is no good and intercepted by Harrison. Leeds have been a little skittish since the restart, they could really do with a second goal to steady their nerves ... and those of their long-suffering fans. “I have followed Leeds United for over 50 years and they always make me nervous on match day,” writes Hazel Whitefoot Sliwka. “We seem to make silly mistakes. Let’s hope this game is different.”

6.14pm BST

54 min: Bamford is sent clear down the middle by Klich, but he’s carelessly gone too soon and the flag goes up.

6.13pm BST

53 min: Poor old Costa is helped onto a stretcher and carried off down the tunnel. Mowatt’s challenge looked innocuous, a garden-variety obstruction, nothing more. But the Leeds man has paid a heavy price.

6.11pm BST

51 min: Barnsley are knocking at the door. Woodrow shanks one from the edge of the box. Williams whistles a shot across the face of goal from the left. And then Styles threads a shot inches wide of the right-hand post. Since the restart, 58% of the game has been played out in Leeds’ final third. The visitors will wonder how they’re not level.

6.09pm BST

49 min: Leeds are forced into a second change. Mowatt shunted Costa off the pitch, and the Leeds player fell awkwardly on his hip. After a couple of minutes of treatment, the towel’s thrown in. Alioski comes on in his place.

6.08pm BST

47 min: Berardi’s looping header threatens to drop into the top-right corner of the Barnsley net, but Walton claims.

6.07pm BST

46 min: A clean sheet in this second half, and Leeds will be one point away from a return to the Premier League after 16 long years in the wilderness. But the nerves will be jangling, and they nearly concede in the first 50 seconds of the half, the substitute Thomas whistling a shot from the edge of the box straight down Meslier’s throat. Barnsley came out all guns blazing there.

6.05pm BST

Leeds get the second half underway. Both sides have made a change: Hernandez has come on for Roberts, while Thomas replaces Halme.

6.02pm BST

Even more half-time entertainment. OK, so Leeds lost this match. But anyone reminiscing about Big Jack’s glory days may enjoy the full and frank exchange of views with Peter Osgood on 52 minutes, plus other assorted losses of temper scattered throughout this notoriously combative game. And he got his winner’s medal two years later, so all’s well that ends well.

Related: Chelsea 2-1 Leeds United (aet): 1970 FA Cup final replay – as it happened

5.55pm BST

Some more half-time entertainment. We spoil you, you know.

Related: David O'Leary: 'My Leeds players were totally fearless and really, really brave'

5.53pm BST

Half-time entertainment.

Related: Jack Charlton, a giant fish and the memories that make us love sport | Max Rushden

5.52pm BST

A highly entertaining first half comes to a close. On another day, Barnsley could be leading; they’ve had their chances. Then again, in that alternate reality they could be a couple more behind, because Leeds have carved out plenty of opportunities too. The hosts take a step closer to the Premier League, but expect relegation-threatened Barnsley to ask them a few more questions in the second period.

5.49pm BST

45 min +1: White skips past a couple of challenges before offloading to Klich, who slides Harrison away down the left. Harrison fires in a low cross, but with Bamford lurking, Sollbauer turns away.

5.47pm BST

45 min: Mowatt tries to find Brown with a floated cross from the left, but it’s easy pickings for Meslier.

5.46pm BST

43 min: Turns out Barnsley were unhappy with the goal, arguing that Bamford had run the ball out for a goal kick before cutting it back. But replays show the whole ball didn’t cross the line. Speaking of crossing a line ... “Isotonic beverages all round at Elland Road today where it is 21º C,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “Yet 26 years ago Big Jack was raging at Fifa numpties who were blocking his Irish team from getting water in temperatures of 35º + in Orlando. And then they banned him for being a hot head!” Ha! That was a marvellous outpouring of righteous rage. It’s pretty much impossible not to have loved the big man.

5.43pm BST

41 min: Harrison glides past Ludewig on the left and reaches the byline. But upon entering the box, his radar goes awry and the ball’s gifted to Andersen with white shirts lining up to tap home from close range.

5.42pm BST

39 min: Costa has the beating of Williams down the right. Not for the first time today, he shrugs him off with ease and scampers towards the box. He should find Bamford in the middle, but his pass is no good. He gets a second opportunity, and finds Klich, just inside the area, but the resulting shot is blocked. Leeds are getting plenty of joy on this flank.

5.39pm BST

37 min: Another goal is surely just around the corner. But for whom? Woodrow should release Brown into the Leeds box down the inside-left channel, but the move doesn’t quite come off. Then Roberts skitters down the Leeds left, but tackles himself as he approaches the area. This is a good game.

5.38pm BST

35 min: Harrison’s presence out on the left forces Mowatt into conceding another corner. From the set piece, he flicks the ball across the face of goal for Bamford, but Styles, who has been Barnsley’s best player so far, whips clear under pressure. A goal saver.

5.36pm BST

34 min: A very scrappy game of head tennis breaks out in midfield. Bielsa doesn’t look particularly happy about it.

5.34pm BST

32 min: Nothing comes of the corner, but Leeds keep on keeping on. Harrison barrels down the left and sends a cross harmlessly into the stand behind. All of a sudden, Barnsley are suddenly hanging on a little.

5.33pm BST

30 min: Gerhard Struber stands in the technical area shaking his head sadly. His team were caught napping there. Leeds come at Barnsley again, Costa winning a corner off Andersen down the right.

5.32pm BST

Barnsley should be a goal up; instead they’re a goal down. Klich slides a pass down the inside-right channel to release Bamford. The striker can’t get a shot away, but he reaches the byline and fizzes the ball across the face of goal. Sollbauer, facing the wrong way and going at it with the wrong foot, accidentally pokes home, the ball apologetically trundling into the empty net.

5.30pm BST

27 min: Styles drives in from the left. He breezes past Dallas and takes a whack from the edge of the box. His effort is deflected out for a corner on the left. Styles takes it himself, and it’s a glorious delivery. Anderson meets it with a diving header, six yards out ... but sends it wide right with Meslier’s feet planted. What a chance!

5.28pm BST

26 min: The players, hydrated and refreshed, start running around again.

5.27pm BST

25 min: And that, ladies and gentlemen, is drinks. Isotonic beverages all round. Chin chin!

5.26pm BST

24 min: Klich and Costa combine cutely down the right. Costa dribbles into the area and scuffs a shot goalwards. Bamford helps it on, only for Walton to claw instinctively away. It’s a wonderful reaction save, though it doesn’t really matter, the flag going up with Bamford caught offside.

5.24pm BST

22 min: Now it’s Leeds’ turn to swing a free kick into the opposition mixer. Harrison hooks this one in from deep on the left. There’s a quick game of pinball; eventually a double ricochet nestles in the arms of Walton. Not entirely sure how this is still goalless.

5.23pm BST

21 min: Mowatt trundles a Barnsley free kick down the right, and releases Chaplin into the Leeds box. But the home defence had held a high line well, and the flag correctly goes up for one of your old offside decisions.

5.22pm BST

19 min: It’s a nice open game, this. Bamford wriggles on the edge of the Barnsley D and makes a little room for a shot. But not quite enough. His effort squirts through a thicket of red-and-white-hooped legs, harmlessly to Walton. Then another phase of attack, as Klich chases a long throw down the right, gets a yard on Andersen, and whips a low cross down the corridor of uncertainty. He can feel aggrieved that nobody in white was taking a chance, because they’d have had a tap-in.

5.20pm BST

17 min: Styles slaloms down the middle of the park, having picked out a misplaced Dallas pass. Advancing towards the box, he defers to Woodrow, who slices a hysterical effort many yards wide right. Styles throws up his hands in theatrical irritation. His run deserved better.

5.18pm BST

16 min: That was a fine opportunity, Roberts was a little too studious there. Somewhere in a parallel universe, both teams have scored an early goal.

5.17pm BST

14 min: Barnsley overplay at the back, and Bamford regains possession for Leeds. He sliderules Roberts clear. Just as Roberts prepares to shoot, Andersen slides in from behind and toe-pokes brilliantly out for a corner. Nothing comes of that.

5.16pm BST

13 min: Leeds respond well, Harrison dribbling down the left and winning a corner. Walton punches the corner clear, just about, in a very uncertain style. Costa should get the ball back into the box from the right, but runs it out of play. Goal kick.

5.14pm BST

11 min: And here they go. They should be leading. Styles strips the ball off Dallas, out on the left. He feeds Woodrow, who slides a ball down the inside-left channel to release Brown in the box! Brown is one on one with Meslier, albeit at a tight angle, and sends his shot across the face of goal. Leeds breathe out and clear.

5.12pm BST

10 min: Halme robs Klich in the centre circle and looks for Chaplin down the left. The pass sails out for a goal kick, but it’s clear that Barnsley aren’t here just to make up the numbers in a top-versus-bottom rout.

5.11pm BST

9 min: Barnsley are making Leeds work, though, snapping away at their heels, constantly pressing in the fashionable style. There’s a nice tempo to the game.

5.09pm BST

7 min: Ayling rakes a long ball down the middle in the hope of springing Harrison clear, but again the pass is wayward and sails through to Walton in the Barnsley goal.

5.08pm BST

6 min: Roberts tries to release Klich down the left, with Barnsley having committed men forward in a futile attack. If the pass is right, Klich is away. But it’s not. It curls harmlessly into the stand, and the chance is gone.

5.06pm BST

4 min: Leeds are enjoying most of the early possession, a level of control being slowly established.

5.04pm BST

2 min: Roberts wins an early corner, dribbling with purpose down the left and giving Andersen a bit of a runaround. Harrison’s delivery isn’t all that, and Barnsley clear. Leeds on the front foot from the off.

5.02pm BST

Barnsley get the ball rolling ... after both teams take a knee. Black lives matter.

5.01pm BST

Before kick-off, a minute of respectful silence for Big Jack. Beautifully and perfectly observed.

Related: David Squires on ... the life and times of Jack Charlton

4.58pm BST

The teams are out! Leeds are in their famous Revie-inspired white shirts, while Barnsley play in their first-choice red, with old-fashioned hooped socks. No crowd means none of the usual atmosphere at this marvellous pile, but with Leeds so close to the end of their 16-year adventure in the lower divisions, the tension remains palpable. We’ll be off in a minute.

4.48pm BST

A brief word with Marcelo Bielsa. “We analyse every match deeply. We have to go step by step, every match. We need more focus in attack, when the team is compact and close to their own box.”

4.45pm BST

Barnsley coach Gerhard Struber speaks a good game. “We believe in our quality and our game style. The mood in our dressing room is very good. We know it’s a massive opponent today, but we have the right energy to fight in this 90 minutes. Maybe we can pick up points. On the ball they are very good, with a clear plan. Our plan is to give them no space and no time. With the right aggression and intensity ... we are ready for a fight and believe we can create a surprise.”

4.42pm BST

This is the first match at Elland Road since the passing of the great Jack Charlton. Tributes to the big man, who notched up a club-record 773 appearances for Leeds as an integral part of the sensational side built by Don Revie, have been placed outside the ground. Someone’s placed a flat cap among the flags, scarves and floral tributes, a lovely bittersweet touch.

4.24pm BST

One change for Leeds, who beat Swansea last time out. Gaetano Berardi replaces Kalvin Phillips.

Barnsley have to do without Elliot Simoes, injured when being kicked in the air by Wigan’s Danny Fox last Saturday. He’s one of two changes from that goalless draw, Marcel Ritzmaier dropping to the bench. In come Aapo Halme and Conor Chaplin.

4.16pm BST

Leeds United: Meslier, Ayling, Berardi, Cooper, Dallas, White, Helder Costa, Klich, Roberts, Harrison, Bamford.
Subs: Douglas, Poveda-Ocampo, Alioski, Casilla, Hernandez, Struijk, Shackleton, Stevens, Casey.

Barnsley: Walton, Ludewig, Sollbauer, Andersen, Jordan Williams, Halme, Styles, Mowatt, Brown, Woodrow, Chaplin.
Subs: Ben Williams, Bahre, Thomas, Ritzmaier, Schmidt, Oduor, Wolfe, Marsh, Collins.

1.54pm BST

Leeds United can’t secure promotion back to the Premier League this evening ... but a win against Barnsley would bring them this close. Three points at Elland Road today, and they’ll be six points clear of third-placed Brentford with two games to go. The three-time champions of England will be as good as back.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side are hot favourites today, not least because it’s top versus bottom in the Championship. They’ve won their last three matches to an aggregate score of 9-1. They’ve won nine of their last 11, having recovered from a month-long stutter at the start of the calendar year. They won 2-0 when the teams met at Oakwell back in September, the latest victory in a three-game run of success against their Tyke rivals.

Continue reading...

Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool: Premier League – as it happened

Liverpool had a rare off day at the back ... and a lively and resilient Arsenal pounced

11.44pm BST

Related: Jürgen Klopp laments Arsenal defeat as Liverpool miss out on points record

10.45pm BST

Barney Ronay was at the Emirates to see the new Arsenal beat the new champions. Here’s his report. You know the pack drill: click, then enjoy. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!

Related: Arsenal's Lacazette and Nelson make Liverpool pay for defensive lapses

10.44pm BST

And now Jurgen Klopp’s analysis. “Twice we had a massive lapse of concentration. We took a break after we scored 1-0. Before the goal we were brilliant, really good. But these two moments killed the game for us. We then had to chase the game. We did that, Arsenal had no real chances, but you cannot win football games when you concede goals like that. We lost concentration and you cannot do that, it’s the Premier League. We did that today. Virg lost the ball, though I didn’t see a lot of offers, nobody around wanted it. As a full pack, we took a break and that makes no sense. And Arsenal was there, twice in the game, and we have to take that. We have to learn from that, and we will. We got punished for it tonight, and that’s good in a sense, because we will learn from it. It was a good game, we had 24 to three shots. What can you do more? You have to hit the target, that helps! Credit to Arsenal. I’m not sure they forced the mistakes, but they were there.”

10.38pm BST

But there’s still enough time for a shot across the bows of the board. Arteta is asked whether he’ll be given the money required for a successful summer in the transfer market. “I don’t know. It is a big concern, because there is no magic. You need quality to build a squad, and you need big squads. It’s a challenge.”

10.36pm BST

A very content Mikel Arteta speaks. “In terms of energy and happiness in the dressing room, this is good medicine ahead of the semi-final. Against this team you have to take your chances, you need to defend, and you need a bit of luck, and we had all of that. We had belief. I was worried at 1-0 how we would react, but we were able to pick one moment and believe again. We were at it, and here is our reward. It is a massive job, you only need to look at the difference between the two teams today, the gap is enormous. But the gap in many areas, we can not improve it in two months. But the gap in accountability, the energy, the commitment and fight is now equal. And before it wasn’t. I am very proud of that. With that, we can create something.”

10.27pm BST

And now a chat with Virgil van Dijk, who is philosophical about his rare off-day. “Obviously the goals we gave as a present. Until their first goal it was totally us. We dominated. We gave them two goals, but then it is difficult to come back. If you give goals away, like I did today, you get what you deserve. The goals shouldn’t happen, but until then there was nothing wrong. It happens in football sometimes and you have to deal with it. Unfortunately today, we had to deal with it twice! I take the blame for it. We move on. We wanted to win the game, but we can’t change the fact. We will try to win the last two games, but we have had a fantastic season already. Getting the trophy will be a dream come true. Tonight is disappointment and that is in my head, and sometimes you can be the villain, but we move on.”

10.23pm BST

A word with the match-winner Reiss Nelson. “It’s a big achievement for us. We’ve been working hard in training. Getting a win against the leaders is a great result. You dream as a little boy to score against the big boys, so I’m happy with the goal and the result. When I get home I’ll celebrate with my family, I’m really delighted. The boss said keep pressing, and I think we did very well, we were eager to keep pressing them.” A playbook to follow for Liverpool’s opponents next season, right there.

10.18pm BST

A strange old game, that. It was pretty much all Liverpool from the get-go until the final whistle, but a couple of horrendous and uncharacteristic defensive lapses cost them dear. They can now only reach a maximum of 99 points, should they beat Chelsea and Newcastle United in their last two games. Only 99 points! It’s unlikely to worry them too much, as they start to dream of their summer holiday, during which they’ll properly celebrate their first title in 30 years. Arsenal meanwhile may wonder how they won this match; then again, they were resolute at the back and on point when opportunity presented itself. They join Watford and Manchester City in beating the new champs. It’s a result that will give them confidence ahead of next season ... and hope going into Saturday’s FA Cup semi against Manchester City.

10.12pm BST

... and it’ll be no all-time points record for the new champions Liverpool. A great defensive display by Arsenal, a farcical one by Liverpool, and a great night for Manchester City, whose 100-point total from a couple of years ago remains in the record books.

10.09pm BST

90 min +6: From the corner, Origi and Tierney come together in the air. As Tierney falls to ground, the whistle goes, as Shaqiri tucks the ball into the bottom right. No goal.

10.08pm BST

90 min +5: That corner leads to another, from which Alexander-Arnold shoots from distance. The ball deflects out to the right. Another corner!

10.07pm BST

90 min +4: Mane accelerates down the left and earns a corner.

10.06pm BST

90 min +3: Mane and Minamino combine down the left but can’t work space for a shot. For all their possession, Liverpool haven’t made Martinez work too often.

10.05pm BST

90 min +2: Martinez takes his own sweet time over a goal kick.

10.04pm BST

90 min +1: Caballos is booked for clattering into the back of a mid-air Minamino.

10.03pm BST

90 min: Arsenal, under so much pressure for so long, nearly wrap it up! Aubameyang juggles his way down the left and loops inside for Willock, who snatches at the bouncing ball, 12 yards out, and sends it well wide right. There will be five added minutes.

10.02pm BST

89 min: Keita has a pelt from 25 yards, sending a meaty one towards the bottom left. Martinez is behind it all the way, and catches gracefully.

10.00pm BST

87 min: A rare corner for Arsenal on the left is utilised pretty much as a time-management exercise. Liverpool eventually clear.

9.59pm BST

86 min: Mane gets a yard on Maitland-Niles down the left and enters the box. He slashes hysterically wide left, when one-on-one with Martinez. Maitland-Niles was breathing down his neck and gave him a soft, clever nudge that put him off his shot. Mane doesn’t complain.

9.58pm BST

85 min: Saka is replaced by Kolasinac. “This game isn’t doing Jordan Henderson’s reputation any harm, is it?” asks Geoff Wignall, in the rhetorical style.

9.55pm BST

83 min: Wijnaldum shoots from distance, teed up by a combination of Mane and Salah. The ball pinballs through to Martinez. And that’s the end of both Wijnaldum and Salah, who are replaced by Origi and the lesser-spotted Shaqiri.

9.54pm BST

81 min: Xhaka is booked for a late, studs-up slide on Keita. No arguments.

9.52pm BST

79 min: Xhaka’s back up. After the restart, Liverpool stroke it around the middle but they’re going nowhere.

9.50pm BST

77 min: Xhaka is over, having tweaked his knee when sliding a Keita pass back towards Martinez. Liverpool want a free kick for a deliberate backpass, but they’re not getting one.

9.48pm BST

76 min: An Arsenal change, as Maitland-Niles comes on for Cedric.

9.48pm BST

75 min: Mane hasn’t stopped driving at the Arsenal defence all evening, and he wins a corner down the left with another elegant dribble. From the set piece, Robertson swings deep. Van Dijk - who owes his team-mates one this evening, a rare state of affairs - heads harmlessly wide right.

9.47pm BST

73 min: The game restarts. Meanwhile here’s Stephen Carr: “‘Now we know why players go to ground,’ says Martin Tyler - who absolutely does not have a track record for repeatedly calling out Salah for doing the very same.”

9.44pm BST

71 min: Liverpool are totally bossing this, but finding myriad ways to let their attacks fizzle out. Mane sashays down the left and pulls back for Robertson, who should get a shot away but ends up tackling himself. Over he goes. And that’s drinks!

9.43pm BST

70 min: Mane, just to the left of the Arsenal box, curls delightfully onto the head of Salah, coming in from the right. Salah slaps a weak header straight at Martinez. He was six yards out, free, and should have done better.

9.42pm BST

69 min: Liverpool have enjoyed 92 percent of possession during the last ten minutes! But Arsenal are holding firm. Just about.

9.41pm BST

67 min: Liverpool work the corner back to Alexander-Arnold, who releases Mane down the left. Mane’s low centre deflects towards Van Dijk, whose shot bobbles through to Minamino. Tierney has a handful of Minamino’s shirt, causing the Liverpool man to stumble but not fall. Minamino wants a penalty, and may have got one had he gone to ground. But the referee waves play on, and VAR doesn’t intervene. Klopp is livid, Minamino confused. But it would have been a soft one.

9.39pm BST

66 min: Keita glides down the inside-left channel and nearly flicks Minamino free into the box. A fine run without the killer pass to match.

9.38pm BST

65 min: Minamino looks in the mood to make his first major statement in a Liverpool shirt. He again busies himself down the Arsenal right, but can’t quite open the defence up. He’s buzzing around with great purpose.

9.37pm BST

64 min: Alexander-Arnold curls it long, forcing Xhaka to head behind for a corner. Only Norwich and Aston Villa have conceded more from corners this season than Arsenal’s 14 ... but this one’s easily cleared.

9.36pm BST

63 min: Minamino is quickly into the thick of it, scampering down the left and dragging a shot across the face of goal and not far wide of the post. Then he works his way down the right and draws Luiz into a clumsy foul. A free kick and a chance for Liverpool to line up across the front of the Arsenal box.

9.35pm BST

61 min: Liverpool respond with a double change of their own. Firmino and the ineffective Oxlade-Chamberlain are replaced by Minamino and Keita.

9.33pm BST

60 min: Liverpool have had 14 attempts on goal to Arsenal’s two. Who needs statistics?

9.32pm BST

59 min: Liverpool continue to stroke it around. Alexander-Arnold floats a ball in from a deep position on the right. Wijnaldum rises highest and tries to guide a header towards the top left but it’s always flying over.

9.30pm BST

58 min: Here they come. Aubameyang, Ceballos and Willock take the places of Lacazette, Torreira and Nelson.

9.29pm BST

56 min: Liverpool have dominated possession since the restart. As a result, there’s a flurry of activity on the Arsenal bench. Triple sub ahoy!

9.27pm BST

54 min: Van Dijk rakes a glorious diagonal pass towards Alexander-Arnold on the left. Alexander-Arnold tugs back for Salah, who takes a touch to send Luiz sliding across the turf, then digs a shot out from under his feet. Martinez tips over the bar, and the corner comes to nought. Klopp continues to look extremely frustrated.

9.25pm BST

52 min: The corner’s worked left to right, where Oxlade-Chamberlain busies himself down the wing. He curls a cross gently into Martinez’s arms.

9.24pm BST

51 min: Mane slips Wijnaldum into space down the left. Wijnaldum cuts back for Salah, but the ball rolls closer to Mane, who has a whack instead. It’s deflected out for a corner.

9.23pm BST

50 min: Bagatelle in the Arsenal box as Alexander-Arnold takes two shots, Robertson and Salah one each. Arsenal get away with some manic defending as the ball pings out for a corner, and the corner is wasted.

9.21pm BST

48 min: Now it’s Alexander-Arnold’s turn to go into the book, arriving late in a 50-50 challenge with Saka. Studs on shin. He might have got away with one there, you know, though the usual Looks Worse In Slow Motion caveats apply. There didn’t seem to be too much intent.

9.19pm BST

47 min: Alisson shanks another clearance out of play. On the touchline, Klopp shakes his head sadly. So much for that half-time team talk.

9.19pm BST

45 min 25 sec: Gomez embarks on a power run up the middle, and is unceremoniously upended by Torreira. A yellow card for a player who escaped one in the first half.

9.18pm BST

Arsenal get the second half underway. No changes. And on that subject ... “Have there actually been any confirmed sightings of Mustafi and Kolasinac on the Arsenal bench?” wonders Graham Fulcher. “I have a feeling they have gone undercover in the Liverpool team.”

9.06pm BST

Half-time entertainment. Concluding the story of the team Liverpool nearly met in the 1984 European Cup final. Magnificent fun.

Related: Dundee United's glory years under Jim McLean – part two of two

9.04pm BST

For half an hour, Liverpool looked in the mood to run up a cricket score. Then Virgil van Dijk and Alisson took turns to gift-wrap goals for Arsenal, the champions hoist by the petard of their own pressing game. Van Dijk goes off fuming, and won’t be looking forward to the reception his manager will be laying on for his team. Klopp looked beyond livid at what unfolded in the last 15 minutes of that half. The second one promises to be a cracker, one way or another!

9.01pm BST

45 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain whacks one goalwards from 20 yards, but it’s straight at Martinez. There will be two added minutes of this weird, warped and wonderful first half.

9.00pm BST

Another Arsenal goal, another fiasco for Liverpool at the back. Alisson tries a cute chip towards Robertson out on the left. Lacazette nips in ahead, barges down the right, and pulls back for Nelson, who steers a fine finish across the keeper and into the bottom left!

8.59pm BST

43 min: Firmino slides Salah into the Arsenal box down the right. Salah’s attempted curler is blocked. Mane clatters into Holding while chasing the loose ball, and for a second the situation threatens to escalate. But it quietens down quickly enough. “Liverpool are very good at most positions, but it’s now clear they must to improve at CB. If i were Klopp I’d be desperately working the phones on the only straight swap deal that can assure back-to-back titles: Mustafi for VVD.” Alan Pyke there, ladies and gentlemen, an Arsenal fan I’ll be bound.

8.56pm BST

41 min: Firmino flicks cutely down the left to release Oxlade-Chamberlain into space. The former Arsenal man hesitates fatally, is closed down by Holding, and knocks the ball out for a goal kick. Very poor.

8.54pm BST

39 min: Corner for Liverpool down the left. Robertson sends it deep. Mane, pulling clear of the bunch in the middle, meets it with a header, but sends it harmlessly over the bar.

8.53pm BST

38 min: Suddenly passes aren’t sticking for Liverpool. Salah shanks one straight out of play into the stand. Frustration betrays him as he snaps his head back and yells, a Pez dispenser of frustration.

8.51pm BST

36 min: Ah yes, here’s Klopp, and he’s allowing himself a wry grin. That’ll no doubt translate into the hairdryer treatment at half time. Mane tries to get sloppy Liverpool going again with a dribble down the left, but his deft flick inside evades Salah.

8.50pm BST

34 min: To be fair to Van Dijk, he’s got plenty of moral credit in the bank. So has Fabinho, but now he gives the ball away cheaply in midfield, allowing Pepe to dribble with great purpose upfield. He’s eventually chased down, but Jurgen Klopp won’t be happy with this at all. Liverpool were in total control, but have carelessly let Arsenal find their feet in this match.

8.49pm BST

Van Dijk has his arm tugged, the ball at his feet on the edge of his own box. It’s a light intervention from Nelson, never a foul, but the defender wants one because he rolls a dreadful backpass straight to Lacazette, who rounds Alisson on the right and rolls into the empty net! What a preposterous goal to give away. VAR has a look at Van Dijk’s complaint, but there’s no way that’s being overturned.

8.47pm BST

31 min: Some more Arsenal possession in the Liverpool half. Torreira finds Lacazette down the inside right, but the flag goes up for offside. No matter, though, because ...

8.46pm BST

30 min: Cedric crosses from the right, forcing Alexander-Arnold to hoick out of play near the corner flag. Some rare possession for Arsenal in Liverpool’s final third. They shop possession, but then so does Mane, and Xhaka returns the ball down the inside-right channel. Nelson gets on the end of it, and is unfortunate when it ricochets off Robertson, back onto him, and out for a goal kick. Better from the hosts.

8.44pm BST

28 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain shoots from distance this time. Xhaka, sliding across, blocks just in time. Salah brings a looping ball down with ease and prepares to shoot, inside the box, but the flag goes up correctly for offside; he’d gone before Oxlade-Chamberlain took aim.

8.42pm BST

26 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain thinks about shooting from distance, but slips a pass wide right to Alexander-Arnold, who curls with the outside of his boot towards Salah in the box. Any contact would surely deflect the ball past Martinez, but Salah can’t quite extend a leg. Arsenal breathe again.

8.39pm BST

25 min: And that, ladies and gentlemen, is time for isotonic beverages.

8.39pm BST

23 min: Liverpool launch another attack, Mane attempting a diagonal curler from the left that’s blocked. They win a corner down the right; the goal-hungry Van Dijk heads straight at Martinez. Then they win another on the left. That one’s a non-event. But Liverpool will be more than happy at the minute. They’re pretty much in complete control.

8.37pm BST

21 min: Arsenal nearly bounce back immediately, Nelson racing after a long pass down the right. He might be offside, he might not. We’ll never know conclusively, because Nelson reaches the box but can’t decide between crossing and shooting, and does neither.

8.36pm BST

Mane very nearly closes down Martinez’s free kick. Not quite, but the ball comes straight back at Arsenal, Firmino and Robertson combining easily down the left. Robertson slips a simple ball across the face of goal, and Mane slams home. Too easy, whichever way you look at it.

8.33pm BST

18 min: Van Dijk, in his more familiar role as quarterback, sprays a fine pass down the left that nearly releases Wijnaldum. Not quite. Arsenal are still struggling to impose themselves on this game, though Martinez hasn’t had a serious save to make yet.

8.32pm BST

16 min: Torreira is fortunate not to go into the book, having brazenly handled the ball, then kicked it away in a fit of pique upon being penalised for it. It looks as though he thought play was going to be stopped for something else and became confused, which is probably why the referee has let him off. From the resulting free kick, Lacazette intercepts and draws a clumsy foul from Van Dijk, who appears to be on some sort of goal hunt this evening, if the amount of time he’s spent in the Arsenal box already is anything to go by.

8.29pm BST

14 min: It’s all Liverpool at the minute, with the game almost entirely being played in Arsenal’s half. The hosts are struggling to get out, finding it hard to string more than a couple of passes together. So much for playing Liverpool at their own game, then.

8.28pm BST

12 min: Holding clatters into the back of Mane. Free kick, just to the left of centre, 25 yards out. Alexander-Arnold shapes to flip it into the top left, but dummies. Robertson takes it instead, floating harmlessly into the arms of Martinez. But then Arsenal nearly pay dearly for playing out from the back. The ball’s knocked back to Martinez, whose clearance is charged down by Firmino. It clips the base of the left-hand post and out for a goal kick. So close to a farcical opening goal.

8.25pm BST

10 min: Now it’s Liverpool’s turn to showcase a corner routine of their own, Firmino having won one out on the right. Alexander-Arnold elaborately plays it up and down the flank and swings infield. Arsenal half clear. Van Dijk tries to trap and shoot from the edge of the box, but can’t sort his feet out, and the danger is over.

8.24pm BST

8 min: Arsenal press Liverpool hard, playing the opponents at their own game. Gomez, under pressure, clanks a clearance off Fabinho and out for a throw, near his own box. Nothing comes of it, but from an Arsenal point of view that’s an encouraging sign. Arteta’s methods slowly sinking in.

8.21pm BST

6 min: Some fireworks snap, crackle and pop outside the ground. A few London-based Liverpool fans in celebratory mode, no doubt. Amid the banging, Saka wins the first corner of the game down the left. The set piece is worked all the way round to Cedric, on the right, but he freezes a little with the ball at his feet in the Liverpool box, and can’t find a team-mate with his panicked cross. A nice training-ground move, though.

8.18pm BST

3 min: Liverpool sweep forward, Robertson racing down the left and curling low into the box towards Salah. Nelson manages to intercept just in time and clear, but for a second Arsenal looked a bit ragged at the back.

8.17pm BST

2 min: A quiet start as both teams take a turn to have an early touch. Plenty of time to get another ten-goal thriller unfolding yet.

8.15pm BST

Liverpool get the ball rolling ... but only after everyone has taken a knee. Black lives matter.

8.13pm BST

The teams are out! Arsenal, in their famous red shirts with white sleeves, form a guard of honour for the new champs Liverpool, who sport third-choice black with aqua trim. We’ll be off in a minute!

8.07pm BST

Mikel Arteta’s turn. “We have made some changes. The players who are in the starting XI deserve to play. We have played a lot of minutes, so we need everybody. It is about who is in the best condition to start the game today, who is in the best condition to give something from the bench. And it’s the balance between players who haven’t been given much game time and really deserve to start. They always keep pushing in training and demanding, so today is an opportunity.”

8.05pm BST

Jurgen Klopp speaks. “We have this game against a really strong side. They are especially good at counter attacking. It will be intense. I was honestly really happy against Burnley, for 70 to 75 minutes we were outstanding. We should have scored more, but that’s the nature of football that makes the game so exciting. Burnley was ready and deserved the point in the end. So we didn’t change a lot, we go again, we will give it another try.”

8.01pm BST

North London supremacy news. Tottenham Hotspur have just won 3-1 at Newcastle United. That puts them five points and three places ahead of Arsenal, on 55 points in seventh place. Arsenal have slipped to 10th place, given the swerve by Burnley, who snatched a point off Wolves with a late, late, late, late, late penalty. The Clarets leapfrog into ninth.

Related: Newcastle v Tottenham: Premier League – live!

7.32pm BST

Arsenal make five changes to the XI named ahead of the 2-1 defeat at Tottenham on Sunday. Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Saed Kolasinac, Dani Ceballos and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are all benched, making way for Rob Holding, Cedric Soares, Lucas Torreira, Reiss Nelson and Bukayo Saka. This weekend’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City perhaps very much in mind there.

Liverpool make two changes to the team sent out to draw with Burnley on Saturday. The youngsters Neco Williams and Curtis Jones drop to the bench, stepping aside for the not-particularly-older Trent Alexander-Arnold and, returning to his old stomping ground, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

7.24pm BST

Arsenal: Martinez, Holding, Luiz, Tierney, Cedric, Torreira, Xhaka, Nelson, Pepe, Lacazette, Saka.
Subs: Bellerin, Papastathopoulos, Ceballos, Aubameyang, Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Willock, Kolasinac, Macey.

Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Subs: Lovren, Keita, Adrian, Minamino, Shaqiri, Origi, Jones, Elliott, Williams.

4.07pm BST

It’s fair to say these two clubs know how to put on a show. Since the pair drew 0-0 at the Emirates in August 2015, they’ve met nine times, and here are the final scorelines: 3-3, 4-3, 3-1, 4-0, 3-3, 1-1, 5-1, 3-1, 5-5. And so a cry goes up from the millions of neutrals without any skin in this particular game: “More, please!”

Arsenal fans may demur. They’ve played their part in all those matches, but haven’t managed to win any of them. Their last victory against today’s opponents came in April 2015, when a sensational eight-minute, three-goal, first-half blitz dispatched a Liverpool side coming apart at the seams. Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez were the heroes for Arsene Wenger’s side that day; Brendan Rodgers was struggling to get a tune out of Alberto Moreno, Joe Allen and Lazar Markovic. Times change, huh.

Related: Joy of Six: Liverpool v Arsenal matches | Scott Murray

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The Fiver | Wigan 8-0 Hull: some memorable jaw-dropping entertainment at last

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The Fiver is not 100% convinced that the scramble for a spot in next year’s Big Cup is fully delivering on its much-trumpeted promise of thrills, spills and heart-racing excitement. Liverpool qualified for it back in November, pretty much. Manchester City have long since made it too, partly on account of their admirable prudence in the sepia-toned time-barred past. Chelsea are in the process of stumbling over the line, despite showing worrying signs during the past couple of matches of touching their tasteful new disrupted-herringbone-patterned cloth, while Manchester United will probably make it almost by default as well, on account of those horrific trippy flashbacks of 2014 that poor Brendan keeps having.

Related: Championship roundup: Wigan crush Hull 8-0 while Fulham hold West Brom

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Sheffield United 3-0 Chelsea: Premier League – as it happened

David McGoldrick finally scored his first Premier League goals as the Blades swept Chelsea aside

7.47pm BST

That’s your lot, then. Jamie Jackson was at Bramall Lane to watch that one unfold. Here’s his verdict. Thanks for reading this MBM!

Related: Sheffield United on target for Europe as McGoldrick dents Chelsea’s hopes

7.42pm BST

Here’s Frank Lampard, and he’s not happy. “They were better than us. Physically; in the mind; with the ball. So we lose the game. They were stronger than us. All I could hear were Sheffield United voices. They’re good players, a good team, so if you come here and perform below par, it’s gonna happen. We were too slow with the ball. It’s disappointing. I’ve got to be careful to over-analyse this one, we’ve got to put that to bed, and fight for the top four. But I learned a lot and won’t forget that. I’m concerned about how we performed.”

7.39pm BST

The two-goal hero David McGoldrick talks to Sky. “I told the lads not to worry, that when a goal comes I’ll probably get two! I had a couple of chances today and managed to put them away, my first Premier League goals at 32. It means the world. I made my debut at 16 ... and here I am today living my dream!” He’s then asked whether the Blades will make Europe, and straight-bats the question, explaining that he’d get a “bollocking” from Chris Wilder if he says anything on the subject. Back in the studio, Micah Richards, who has form in this regard, is pictured in a state of high amusement. Lovely scenes.

7.26pm BST

That’s a huge result in the scramble for European places. Sheffield United move up to sixth, just four points behind fifth-placed Manchester United. If only the goal-line technology had been working at Villa Park, huh. Chelsea meanwhile stay in third, but Leicester and Manchester United can both overtake them by winning their games in hand against Bournemouth and Southampton respectively.

7.23pm BST

United deservedly win big. They were magnificent, David McGoldrick finally breaking his Premier League duck with a brace. Chelsea weren’t at the races at all. While Chris Wilder takes to the field all smiles, his opposite number Frank Lampard disappears down the tunnel.

7.22pm BST

90 min +2: Some head tennis in the United box leads to the square root of nowt. Meanwhile here’s a howl of anguish from Benjamin Park: “As much as you can say that Lampard needs to organise this defence better, the individual performances have been atrocious. I understand that maybe Reece James you give a pass because he’s young and new to the Premier League, and that’s a big MAYBE. The rest though, it’s not like they’re fresh-faced kids off the playground. If I was them, I’d be embarrassed.”

7.20pm BST

90 min +1: In the first of three extra minutes, Stevens rakes a shot over the Chelsea bar from a tight angle on the right. This could quite easily have been a four or five-goal thrashing.

7.20pm BST

90 min: Alonso, wide on the left, finds Azpilicueta coming in from the right. Chelsea’s captain connects, but only sends the ball softly into Henderson’s arms.

7.19pm BST

89 min: The game fizzles out. United have done their job. Chelsea - for the first time since the restart, having made a contribution in the five-goal thriller at West Ham - have been a complete non-event.

7.16pm BST

87 min: Jorginho slide-rules a pass down the inside-right channel, but Abraham is quickly surrounded before he can turn and shoot. The old warhorse Jagielka, the Premier League’s most senior outfield player this season, was one of the men on point there.

7.15pm BST

86 min: Willian slips Hudson-Odoi into some space on the right. Hudson-Odoi lands a cross on Abraham’s head, but the striker mistimes his header and it’s an easy gather for Henderson. It’s just not Chelsea’s day.

7.13pm BST

84 min: United play keep-ball. Chelsea are chasing shadows.

7.12pm BST

82 min: It should be four. McGoldrick sends Mousset clear down the middle, Chelsea’s defence having gone on summer holiday. He draws Kepa and dinks him, but the ball drifts wide left. Very poor, with the goal gaping. Perhaps a little credit should go to Zouma, the only Chelsea defender to make his way back and put a little pressure on Mousset’s shoulder.

7.09pm BST

80 min: The proper half-time break, that is, not this drinks nonsense.

7.08pm BST

79 min: Giroud flashes a header straight at Henderson. It’s Chelsea’s first attempt on goal since the break.

7.08pm BST

78 min: Turns out James hadn’t made way for Hudson-Odoi. In fact it’s Barkley who only takes his leave now. Very strange.

7.07pm BST

Like London buses, it’s another Premier League goal for McGoldrick. He rolls a pass down the right for Mousset, who fires into the centre. The ball slaps into Rudiger, teeing up McGoldrick, who can’t miss from ten yards and slams home.

7.05pm BST

76 min: Willian floats it in. There’s no pace on the free kick, and Abraham can’t generate enough power with his header, rising from a packed area to waft a header well wide left.

7.04pm BST

75 min: Alonso dribbles down the left touchline and earns a fairly cheap free kick simply by falling over. A generous one. Before Willian can take it, with the box loaded, James is replaced by Hudson-Odoi.

7.02pm BST

73 min: Willian sends the corner in from the left. Rudiger flicks on. Abraham, at the far post, can’t contort his body to acrobatically steer home from a tight angle. Goal kick. That sequence is the nearest Chelsea have come in a while.

7.01pm BST

72 min: Azpilicueta drives down the right and looks for Giroud with a looping cross. Too long. But Chelsea recycle the ball, and Azpilicueta is teed up by Barkley. He has a crack towards the bottom left. It’s hit with feeling, but deflected out for a corner.

7.00pm BST

70 min: United win a corner out on the right. A game of head tennis follows. Then Baldock finds some space on the other flank. He fires low and hard towards the near post, where Kepa claims under pressure from the lurking Mousset.

6.58pm BST

69 min: And so the game restarts. The first action of the fourth quarter sees Giroud nearly get on the end of another long ball. Chelsea have clearly decided to go direct now, having tried pretty much everything else.

6.58pm BST

68 min: It’s the veteran Jagiekla who comes on for Basham.

6.57pm BST

67 min: It turns out that Basham can’t continue. He troops off down the tunnel, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. Not sure who’s coming on in his stead, because everyone’s stopped for drinks. Magnet all round!

6.55pm BST

66 min: That’s Pulisic’s last act of the evening. He’s hooked in favour of Giroud, who immediately takes a first-time lash at a long ball dropping over his shoulder. But there’s to be no Jamie Vardy style finish. Well wide, though full marks for ambition.

6.54pm BST

65 min: Barkley nearly works space to shoot from the edge of the United box, then lays off to Pulisic to his right. Pulisic is able to get a shot away, but it’s blocked the nanosecond it leaves his boot.

6.53pm BST

64 min: O’Connell, Norwood and Lundstram nearly open up Chelsea with some crisp passing down the inside-left channel. The visitors finally clear, though they take their own sweet time in doing so. They don’t look assured at the back at all.

6.52pm BST

63 min: ... and McBurnie with Mousset. Basham is good to continue.

6.52pm BST

62 min: That free kick smacked Basham in the mush, so the physio is doing the follow-my-finger thing. While that goes on, United replace Berge with Lundstram ...

6.50pm BST

60 min: Chelsea are applying a bit of pressure now, though. Barkley is needlessly barged over by Berge, 25 yards out, and this is a free kick just to the left of centre. Barkley tries to deliver the set piece towards the left-hand side of the goal, but witlessly blooters it into the wall.

6.48pm BST

59 min: James deep on the right, curls towards Abraham, who clumsily heads out for a goal kick, miles to the right of the target. For some reason, Chelsea are awarded a free kick. Those addicted to mild controversy will be sorry to hear Chelsea do nothing with their gift.

6.47pm BST

57 min: Pulisic takes the ball off a snoozing O’Connell out on the Chelsea right, then wins a corner. Willian takes. A complete waste. But that’s the first time Chelsea have hassled United’s back line into a mistake.

6.44pm BST

55 min: Alonso one-twos with Willian down the left and cuts a ball back into the mixer. It’s whacked clear by Baldock. Henderson, that one lucky parry from James apart, has had very little to do this evening.

6.43pm BST

53 min: Chelsea deal with the corner easily enough, something that we haven’t been able to say too often this season. But then O’Connell comes at them from the left flank, nearly working space for a shot. Not quite. United continue to be the more impressive of the two teams, despite Chelsea’s tactical rethink.

6.42pm BST

52 min: Pulisic has been quiet since his early flurry of activity. He tries to dribble his way down the left but the door is slammed shut pretty quickly. United counter through Basham down the right. He curls low and hard towards Osborn, but Zouma hacks out for a corner.

6.39pm BST

50 min: James whips one in from the right. The deep cross is met by Alonso, coming in from the other flank. He heads harmlessly wide left from ten yards. Still, that’s a little better from Chelsea, who offered very little in attack during the first half.

6.38pm BST

49 min: McGoldrick rolls a ball down the right for McBurnie to chase. Rudiger smoothly drifts across to cover and snuff out the danger.

6.37pm BST

47 min: Basham channels his inner Garrincha and breezes down the inside-right channel. He nearly works space to shoot in the box, but it’s nose-bleed territory and he’s crowded out while thinking about it. He should probably have laid off to Berge, nearby in space.

6.35pm BST

Chelsea get the ball rolling for the second half, having made two changes. Rudiger and Alonso come on for Mount and the injured/hapless Christensen. Chelsea have gone to a back three, with Azpilicueta joining Zouma and Rudiger in the centre. Alonso and James are the wing-backs.

6.20pm BST

Half-time entertainment. Remembering the time Dundee United nearly won the European Cup.

Related: Dundee United's glory years under Jim McLean: part one of two – podcast

6.19pm BST

The hosts are in total control, their European dream still very much alive. Chelsea have had their grip on third place severely loosened. A big second half coming up for both teams.

6.18pm BST

45 min: There will be two added minutes before the teams can get their half-time chip butties and pinch of snuff.

6.17pm BST

43 min: Seconds after snuffing out a move that would have established a three-goal lead for the hosts, Chelsea nearly reduce United’s advantage to one. James sends a vicious low diagonal swerver towards the bottom left. Henderson parries well, and the rebound somehow evades Abraham, the nearest player. United get away with something Chelsea earlier did not. It’s a thin line between success and failure sometimes.

6.15pm BST

42 min: Chelsea press forward but lose the ball. Suddenly they’re backtracking in a panic as United flood forward. Stevens tries to release McGoldrick with a raking ball down the middle, but credit where it’s due, Christensen holds the striker off and heads away from danger. Calm defending from the last man. Chelsea can’t afford to ship another before the break.

6.12pm BST

40 min: Chelsea are attempting to impose themselves on the game, but for all the possession, it’s fairly sterile stuff in the middle of the park.

6.10pm BST

38 min: Pulisic dances in from the left flank but his floated cross is nowhere near Abraham in the centre. The frustration of the men in blue is palpable.

6.09pm BST

36 min: Abraham tears after a long ball, but last-man Egan isn’t giving ground. Pulisic arrives hoping to help, but so does Basham. United team up to snuff out the danger and clear. The home side have been characteristically impressive so far.

6.08pm BST

35 min: Christensen is bullied off the ball by McBurnie as he tries to clear from a tight spot near the left-hand corner flag. Nothing comes from this particular press, but it does illustrate the lightweight nature of the Chelsea back line. It’s a big problem for Frank Lampard, he of furrowed brow in the dugout.

6.06pm BST

34 min: BREAKING NEWS. Chelsea’s defence is all over the shop.

6.05pm BST

This is a simple but lovely goal! Stevens and Osborn execute a crisp one-two down the left. Willian doesn’t track Stevens, who has time to whip a cross to the near post. Zouma and Christensen make no challenge whatsoever, allowing McBurnie to plant a header in the bottom right! Kepa had no chance!

6.03pm BST

31 min: United plump up some cushions.

6.01pm BST

29 min: Chelsea continue to hog possession. But ... and this depends on how you look at it - they’re either being very patient or huffing and puffing a bit. United seem comfortable.

5.58pm BST

27 min: Mount swings a ball in from the left. It’s too high for Abraham, who hasn’t had a sniff yet.

5.58pm BST

26 min: The game restarts. Chelsea stroke it around in the middle of the park, but go nowhere. At least they’re rehydrated.

5.55pm BST

24 min: And that’s drinks!

5.55pm BST

22 min: Champions League chasing Chelsea have a slight problem here. United have scored the opening goal in 14 Premier League matches this season. They’ve gone on to win 11 of those games. The other three were drawn.

5.52pm BST

20 min: That’s the first Premier League goal of McGodrick’s career. It’s taken him 26 appearances in the top flight.

5.51pm BST

Baldock clips a ball from the right towards McBurnie, just inside the box on the left. McBurnie shapes and slams a volley goalwards. It’s intended to head towards the bottom right, but the ball caroms off Barkley and heads towards the bottom left. Kepa sticks out a brilliant instinctive hand to parry, but his good work is for nought, and McGoldrick is on hand to belt home from a couple of yards.

5.49pm BST

17 min: United spend a bit of time in the Chelsea half, Berge causing a few problems down the right. Then McBurnie has a look down the left. Chelsea half clear. Then ...

5.47pm BST

15 min: Willian has his first sniff of possession, gliding down the right, but his cross is Azpilicuetan. Goal kick.

5.46pm BST

14 min: Pulisic scampers down the left again and slips a pass towards Azpilicueta on the touchline. The Chelsea captain shanks a dismal cross into the stand behind the goal. This game hasn’t quite taken off yet, though Chelsea will be the happier of the two teams, enjoying as they are the lion’s share of possession.

5.44pm BST

12 min: Christensen is moving around fairly freely, so all appears well.

5.43pm BST

10 min: A pause as Christensen rolls his ankle as he snaps at McGoldrick’s heels. Ooyah, oof. A lot of frowning and wincing. The physio’s on. But he’s soon up and about again, and ready to continue.

5.41pm BST

8 min: Pulisic is up against a full-back already on a yellow card, and he looks in the mood. He drives at Baldock down the left before rolling forward towards Mount on the overlap. There’s a little too much juice on the pass and the move breaks down. Chelsea look dangerous every time Pulisic goes near the ball, much as they did in the first half against Crystal Palace last week.

5.39pm BST

7 min: James swings in a cross from the right. United let it fly all the way across to Pulisic, romping in from the left, ahead of Baldock. The hosts are relieved to see his stooping header fly harmlessly over. That was a real chance.

5.37pm BST

5 min: Norwood swings one in from the right. McGoldrick tries to plant a header goalwards but James does enough to put him off. It’s another corner, though, and Kepa flaps at it a wee bit. His weak punch drops to Osborn, who should do better from the edge of the box than flay wildly into the stand behind.

5.36pm BST

3 min: It’s a super-early booking for Baldock, who clatters into Pulisic late, and grabs him for good measure. Totally unnecessary, and now he’s got some thinking to do for the rest of the game. Never an ideal state of affairs.

5.34pm BST

2 min: Nothing comes of the resulting corner. Chelsea go up the other end, Barkley having a lash from distance. It’s an easy gather for Henderson. No doubting that both teams are after the three points here.

5.33pm BST

16 seconds: Stevens and O’Connell combine down the left, the latter’s cross being hoicked out for a corner by Mount, under pressure under his own bar. What a start that nearly was!

5.31pm BST

United get the ball rolling ... but not before all 22 players take a knee. Black lives matter.

5.31pm BST

The teams are out! Sheffield United are in their old red and white stripes, while Chelsea wear next season’s first-choice blue. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes. But first, a moment of silent reflection in honour of Jack Charlton - formerly a player with Leeds and manager of Sheffield Wednesday - who passed away today. RIP Big Man.

5.19pm BST

Frank Lampard - who scored with a strange, swerving, keeper-bamboozling free kick the last time Chelsea played at Bramall Lane, in 2006 - has a word. “Credit to Chris Wilder, they have a real identity. Even if you feel like you know what’s coming, it’s still very difficult to deal with them. They’ve shown that in the Premier League this season. It’s a huge credit to them. You really have to do your homework and look at how they play, because it is pretty unique. We have to be ready to deal with it.”

5.08pm BST

Chris Wilder speaks to Sky Sports. “Performances have been good, and we’ve got to try to find a way again to get past a very good side. We’re not getting ahead of ourselves, we can’t look any further than this afternoon, they’re one of the most free-flowing teams in the division. It’s a brilliant test for my players, and one we’re really looking forward to.”

4.40pm BST

Sheffield United make one change to the team that beat Wolves midweek. David McGoldrick replaces Billy Sharp up front; Sharp drops to the bench.

Chelsea make two changes to the side that won at Crystal Palace a few days back. Tammy Abraham and Jorginho replace Olivier Giroud, a sub today, and the injured Billy Gilmour.

4.35pm BST

Sheffield United: Henderson, Basham, Egan, O’Connell, Baldock, Berge, Norwood, Osborn, Stevens, McBurnie, McGoldrick.
Subs: Lundstram, Sharp, Jagielka, Kieron Freeman, Robinson, Mousset, Moore, Rodwell, Zivkovic.

Chelsea: Kepa, James, Christensen, Zouma, Azpilicueta, Barkley, Jorginho, Mount, Willian, Abraham, Pulisic.
Subs: Rudiger, Alonso, Loftus-Cheek, Caballero, Kovacic, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi, Bate.

11.05am BST

Chelsea away was Sheffield United’s first statement result this season. Two goals down to Tammy Abraham’s first-half double in late August, Chris WIlder’s newly promoted side rallied in the second half and secured a richly deserved 2-2 draw, Callum Robinson scoring one and teasing a late own goal out of Kurt Zouma. After the game, Chris Wilder made his intentions for the season clear: “Three years ago we were bottom of League One and now we have come away from Chelsea with a result. We are not day trippers getting autographs and collecting shirts.”

Nearly a year down the line, poor United still have no autographs or shirts. But they have collected quite a lot of points, and as such remain a good bet for European qualification next season. It’s been the best performance from a newly promoted side since Ipswich Town wheelspun around the country in their tractor back in 2000-01. Since the restart, they’ve been diddled by technology at Aston Villa, and have recovered from back-to-back three-goal setbacks to pick up seven of the last nine points on offer. John Egan’s last-gasp winner against Wolves on Wednesday could be the reinvigorating boost that sends them continent-bound next season.

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Norwich City 0-4 West Ham United: Premier League – as it happened

Michail Antonio scored all four goals as West Ham edged closer to safety while consigning Norwich to the Championship next season

2.41pm BST

Jacob Steinberg was at Carrow Road to see Michail Antonio run riot at great expense to Norwich City. Here’s his report of the day the Canaries were officially relegated. Thanks for reading this MBM!

Related: Norwich relegated from Premier League as West Ham's Antonio hits four

2.39pm BST

Here’s the extremely content four-goal hero Michail Antonio, clutching his sanitised match ball. “It’s amazing. When I scored the first two I could see they were quite open, so it was a great opportunity. It’s my first-ever ball, and hopefully I can add to it! We’ve been playing free-flowing, attacking football, the gaffer has told me to stay in the box and all my goals have come from in the box. This result eases the pressure massively, and puts the pressure on Bournemouth and Aston Villa. We’ve got a good goal difference over them, so that’s an extra point. We just need to concentrate on ourselves. All the games coming up are cup finals. We believe that we will be safe. We have to keep pushing forward.”

2.33pm BST

Norwich captain Alexander Tettey - visibly emotional but brutally frank - talks to BT Sport. “It is very hard for me to talk. That was a tough game for us. We tried to be positive, but when we don’t do what we have to do, you get punished. All those four goals: we can’t defend like that. That’s the Premier League: we got punished for every mistake we made. It’s tough. It’s very, very tough. It has been tough to get ourselves going mentally. This club has not been a club that buys well-established players for 40 to 50 million pounds. It is difficult, and you need to be consistent, but we have not done that. We do not have that mentality, that character, that would help us take points and win games. We haven’t had bodies, and it’s been tough for the manager. But it’s a young group and we will take this experience further.”

2.27pm BST

Commiserations to Norwich City and their supporters. Their players crumple to the floor as one, upset and miserable, heads in hands. Poor Max Aarons looks close to tears. But the club have been here before, and they’ll be back sooner or later. The positive spin: they can look forward to another entertaining season in the Championship, where they’ll no doubt push for an instant return to the top flight. Daniel Farke has the good grace to sportingly offer West Ham his congratulations with a warm, bittersweet smile.

2.23pm BST

Four-goal Michail Antonio has single-handedly destroyed Norwich City, who are officially relegated from the Premier League as a result. West Ham aren’t mathematically safe themselves, not yet, but they’re so close now and this superb performance will surely fill them with the necessary confidence to get the job done.

2.21pm BST

90 min +2: BREAKING NEWS: Michail Antonio is named man of the match.

2.19pm BST

90 min: There will be three added minutes of pain and misery for Norwich City.

2.18pm BST

89 min: A free kick for Norwich out on the right, and a chance to load the box. Cantwell flays the ball over everyone’s head and straight out for a goal kick. That just about sums it up for the Canaries.

2.16pm BST

87 min: Balbuena comes on for Ogbonna.

2.16pm BST

85 min: The virtual TV crowd have started with the olés. Norwich fans may wish to drown them out with a blast of John Coltrane.

2.14pm BST

83 min: Yarmolenko and Masuaku come on for Bowen and Fornals. Bowen will have the headlines stolen from him by Antonio today, of course, but he’s been quietly excellent today. His set-piece deliveries were magnificent.

2.12pm BST

82 min: Idah attempts to beat Ogbonna in a footrace down the right, but runs the ball out of play. The young man appears desperate to make some sort of valedictory statement to the Premier League, showing the sort of drive sadly lacking today in many of his team-mates.

2.10pm BST

80 min: Cantwell dribbles in from the left and dinks a cute ball down the channel for Idah, who rolls it across the face of goal. Cresswell clumsily runs it into his own net, but Idah was offside, and Norwich are denied a slapstick consolation.

2.08pm BST

78 min: Norwich swap Vrancic for McLean.

2.07pm BST

77 min: The irrepressible Antonio, four goals to his name, is replaced by Haller. The captain Noble also makes way, for Wilshere. Four goals!

2.06pm BST

76 min: Norwich are the very picture of collective dejection. West Ham ping it around them mercilessly. The hosts really want to hear that final whistle.

2.04pm BST

Noble dinks gracefully down the right. Fredericks shrugs off Aarons and enters the box. He slips a pass towards the near post, where the on-fire Antonio flicks home his fourth. What a performance by the West Ham striker!

2.02pm BST

72 min: Norwich continue to pass it around, albeit in a slightly listless manner. West Ham seem happy enough to let them do it. Everyone knows the situation here.

2.00pm BST

70 min: Full of isotonic wonder, the players go again.

1.58pm BST

68 min: Fornals creams a shot wide right from 25 yards. And that, my friends is drinks. It’s an opportunity for Norwich to make a quadruple substitution. Their entire front line of Pukki, Buendia, Stiepermann and Hernandez is replaced by Martin, Idah, Rupp and Cantwell.

1.57pm BST

67 min: Norwich enjoy a rare period of possession, but they go absolutely nowhere. They’re a couple of minutes closer to the final whistle, at least, a sound they’ll be desperately wanting to hear.

1.54pm BST

65 min: West Ham stroke it around in the manner of a team who have bossed it from the get-go.

1.53pm BST

64 min: Antonio glides down the right. He’s got options in the middle, and Norwich are light at the back, but hesitates and allows Tettey to intercept.

1.52pm BST

63 min: Buendia shoots. It’s blocked. Aarons then curls in from the right and finds Vrancic, who can’t get over the ball and heads harmlessly wide right. This is a little better from Norwich, though, who are playing now for nothing but pride.

1.50pm BST

61 min: A shot in anger from Norwich, as Stiepermann bustles down the middle and feeds Hernandez, who drops a shoulder and fires low and hard towards the bottom left. A decent effort, but one that’s easily snaffled by Fabianski.

1.49pm BST

60 min: Cresswell is put in on the overlap down the left by Fornals. He whips to the near post, where Antonio nearly snaffles his fourth. This could get ugly for Norwich unless they snap out of their collective funk.

1.48pm BST

58 min: On the touchline, Daniel Farke looks thoroughly defeated. Instructively, he didn’t talk to his players at all during the first-half drinks break, a period that effectively doubles as a tactical time-out. His team are putting in a low-energy performance to match.

1.45pm BST

56 min: This is going to be a long second half for Norwich, who will be playing in the Championship next season.

1.44pm BST

Norwich are split in two by a simple chip down the middle by Noble. Antonio is clear! He looks to guide a shot into the bottom right. Krul saves, but the ball balloons up. Antonio loops a header over the prone keeper and into the empty net. And, easy as that, Antonio has his first professional hat-trick! He deserves it, not just for his efforts today, but for his uniformly excellent performances since the restart.

1.42pm BST

53 min: Antonio and Bowen are linking up delightfully this afternoon. A crisp combination out on the right touchline draws a foul from Vrancic. Bowen whips the free kick into the box. Antonio, who is after his first professional hat-trick, flashes a header over the bar from eight yards.

1.40pm BST

51 min: Fredericks barrels down the right and is nudged over by Lewis just before he reaches the box. A free kick, just to the side of the area. Noble makes to swing it into the mixer before pulling a cute one back for Rice. Nice idea, but Rice swishes wildly at the ball and doesn’t connect properly. Norwich, having been caught sleeping, breathe a sigh of relief.

1.39pm BST

49 min: Vrancic and Lewis combine down the left to win a corner. The former delivers straight into the arms of Fabianski.

1.37pm BST

48 min: Lewis has been doing his level best to make things happen, though. He tears down the left and sends in yet another dangerous cross, but there’s nobody in the middle making a run for him. Ogbonna clears easily enough.

1.36pm BST

47 min: ... and Norwich, who have already conceded from two set pieces, don’t defend this one well either. Diop flicks on at the near post again. The ball’s half cleared, but Bowen is afforded a shot from the edge of the box. He blasts over. Norwich appear to have given up.

1.35pm BST

46 min: The Hammers are immediately on the attack, Noble winning a corner off Klose down the right. One Bowen corner leads to another ...

1.34pm BST

West Ham get the second half underway. No half-time changes.

1.26pm BST

While we pause ... let’s take a moment to celebrate Jack Charlton, who passed away today. This is a lovely collection of snaps that chronicle a life enjoyed to the full.

Related: Jack Charlton: his life and times – in pictures

1.22pm BST

Unless this timid Norwich City side do something they haven’t done all season - retrieve a losing situation - their status as a Championship side in waiting will be confirmed in the next hour. West Ham have been good value for their two-goal lead, and while their survival can’t be secured today, they could be taking a big stride towards it this afternoon.

1.19pm BST

45 min +3: Antonio flicks Fornals into space down the left. He dinks in to the middle. The ball’s worked to the right by Noble for Fredericks, who whacks a rising shot over the bar from a tight angle. Norwich go straight up the other end, Buendia turning inside from the right and curling towards the top left. Fabianski is all over it.

1.17pm BST

Noble floats it in. Antonio rises highest, with Klose and Godfrey challenging weakly, and guides a gentle header into the top right. Easy as that.

1.15pm BST

45 min: Buendia bowls Noble to the ground out on the right. Another free kick in a dangerous area.

1.15pm BST

44 min: Klose is down in agony having accidentally kicked Bowen while hoofing a clearance upfield. He’s good to go after a bit of rolling around.

1.13pm BST

42 min: One corner leads to another, then Ogbonna clumsily clatters Klose and the pressure on Norwich is released.

1.12pm BST

41 min: Noble curls in from a deep position on the right. Soucek, on the penalty spot, swivels and wheechs a volley towards the top right. It’s a fine effort, but it’s matched by an equally good save, Krul tipping over the bar.

1.11pm BST

40 min: Stiepermann gets a yard on Fredericks down the left, and crosses low. It’s a dangerous ball ... or it would be, but nobody in yellow has taken a chance. No runners, no shot, and it’s an easy mop-up job for the West Ham defence.

1.08pm BST

38 min: Noble loops the free kick deep. Soucek gets a head to it at the far post, but the ball’s too high for him to connect properly, and sails out harmlessly for a goal kick.

1.08pm BST

37 min: Fornals works his way down the left and is nicked from behind by Buendia. A free kick to the side of a Norwich box suddenly loaded with hungry West Ham players.

1.07pm BST

36 min: West Ham nearly add insult to injury through Bowen, who powers into the Norwich box down the right and thrashes a shot across Krul and inches wide of the top left.

1.06pm BST

35 min: Fredericks and Bowen confuse each other in midfield, allowing Pukki to skitter down the middle of the park at speed. He falls just before the box, and wants a free kick for a light grab by Soucek, but he’s not getting the decision. He’s unfortunate; the whistle should have gone.

1.04pm BST

33 min: West Ham are inches away from a second. Stiepermann checks Bowen illegally, but that doesn’t stop his ball down the left channel squirming through to Antonio, who immediately lays off to Bowen. A touch to the left takes Bowen into the area and he lashes a low diagonal shot wide of the right-hand post. That was a lovely move, a great effort. Once it’s done, Stiepermann is booked for his cynical challenge.

1.02pm BST

32 min: Vrancic hoicks one over the wall, with a view to finding the top right. But he’s hoicked it over the bar as well. Always rising, it was never coming back down.

1.01pm BST

31 min: Vrancic sashays down the inside right channel and is brought down unceremoniously by Fornals, 25 yards from goal. A free kick in a dangerous position.

1.01pm BST

30 min: Hernandez flicks out wide left for Lewis, who whips it back immediately. Hernandez can’t quite wrap his foot around the ball, sending his snapshot from six yards wide left. Norwich are finally gaining a foothold in this match.

1.00pm BST

28 min: Antonio wins a duel with Klose out on the right, and that’s a free kick near the corner flag. Bowen tries a Reverse Konchesky, looking to send the set piece along a similar arc to the one the titular Paul scored with in the 2006 FA Cup final, albeit from the other flank. This one’s always heading over, though.

12.58pm BST

27 min: Another decent cross from the left by Lewis, who is beginning to offer Norwich some options in attack. But nobody in yellow can get a header in. Better, though.

12.56pm BST

26 min: Everyone refreshed, full of bevvy, the game restarts.

12.55pm BST

24 min: Lewis romps up the other end and crosses from the left. Pukki tries to guide a header into the top left from close range but it’s always heading wide. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is drinks.

12.53pm BST

22 min: A simple ball down the middle nearly does for Norwich. Antonio gets in ahead of Klose and prepares to shoot from the edge of the box, but Lewis comes across to help. Antonio cleverly backheels to Bowen, in close attendance, but the resulting poke towards goal is weak and spins away from the danger zone.

12.50pm BST

20 min: Antonio has an acrobatic dig from distance. Then the rest of the team draw some pretty triangles around the pitch. Norwich are chasing shadows.

12.49pm BST

18 min: So having said that - another Pulitzer, please! - Buendia flicks a clever pass down the inside-left channel and nearly releases Hernandez, who is beaten to the ball by Fabianski, though there’s only a couple of nanoseconds in it. Buendia doesn’t half carve out some chances, and in a struggling team to boot.

12.48pm BST

17 min: A series of West Ham throws down the left. Suddenly Antonio and Fornals exchange quick passes and nearly break into the Norwich box. Not quite. The hosts are struggling to get out of their half right now.

12.46pm BST

15 min: Strange to think Norwich asked a few questions of Liverpool at Anfield on the opening day of the season, and later beat Manchester City. It’s a thin line between success and failure in the Premier League all right.

12.44pm BST

13 min: Norwich haven’t won a single point from a losing position this season. Unless they buck that miserable trend, they’ll be relegated in a couple of hours. Mind you, West Ham have shipped 24 points from winning positions during this campaign, so all might not be lost quite yet.

12.43pm BST

Bowen swings it in. Diop flicks on at the near post. It falls to Antonio at the far post. He swivels, shoots from six yards ... and roofs it. West Ham deserve the early breakthrough.

12.41pm BST

11 min: Cresswell, on the left touchline, whips towards Antonio at the near post, six yards out. Antonio sticks out an instinctive toe, which Krul does well to turn around the post. A corner on the left leads to a corner on the right, from which ...

12.40pm BST

10 min: Norwich finally put something together. Hernandez works down the inside right and cuts a ball back for Stiepermann, whose sidefoot from six yards is blocked at source. Norwich come again, teeing up Vrancic, 20 yards out. He slaps a low shot wide right.

12.39pm BST

8 min: Soucek tries to thread a forensic shot into the bottom right from the edge of the box. It flies inches wide of the post. Not sure Krul was getting to that.

12.38pm BST

7 min: Vrancic, in a pocket of space, waves his arms around, asking where the options are. Up front, Pukki throws irritated shapes, having not been spotted by Vrancic. Norwich are a study in frustration right now.

12.36pm BST

5 min: West Ham hog the ball. They’re faster to everything. Plenty of movement all round. They’re clearly in the mood to take a huge step to survival this afternoon.

12.35pm BST

3 min: West Ham look really sharp in these early exchanges. Antonio dribbles infield from the left and rather scuffs his shot, which looks like harmlessly running into the arms of Krul. But Soucek nips in first, and attempts to round the keeper and flick home from a very tight angle on the left. He can only slap the ball into the side netting, but that was neat play from the visitors.

12.33pm BST

2 min: Norwich keep hold of the ball for a bit. Pukki tries to release Hernandez down the middle, quarterbacking from deep, but there’s a bit too much juice on the pass. Then West Ham launch their first sortie, the increasingly impressive Bowen powering down the inside-right channel and into the Norwich box. Just as it looks as though things are opening up for a shot, and under pressure from Buendia, he overruns the ball. Goal kick. A lively start.

12.30pm BST

Norwich get the ball rolling ... but only after all players take a knee of respect, solidarity and love. Black lives matter.

12.29pm BST

A moment of silence in loving memory of Big Jack. This heartwarming piece by Paul Doyle is very much worth your time.

Related: Jack Charlton: an exceptional leader who had Ireland dancing in the streets | Paul Doyle

12.26pm BST

If Daniel Farke spoke, your trusty MBM hack must have missed it. Send complaints, lawsuits, Pulitzer Prizes, etc., to the usual address. Meanwhile the teams are out! Norwich wear canary yellow and green, West Ham troop out in claret and blue. We’ll be off in a minute!

12.11pm BST

The vaulting ambition of David Moyes, as told to BT Sport. “It’s a big opportunity. It’s one of a run of games where we felt we have chances to pick up points, so we have to try to do that today. Fight has been in abundance, but we need a little more quality. More quality in our finishing, we really should have got more than nothing against Burnley, but the other side is that we make sure we don’t concede any goals, and if we do that, we’ve got a great chance of staying up.”

12.07pm BST

Keeping Things In Perspective dept., with Phil Withall. “I’ve long since come to terms with the inevitability of Norwich’s return to the Championship, the fact it is happening in July is an unexpected bonus. It has, however, got me thinking about the club’s place in the football hierarchy. This has led me to conclude that the period between 1984 and 1994 will probably be as good as it ever gets for us. Yes, there were relegations, off-field unrest and financial turmoil, but it was also a period of cups, titles, record league placings and European football. Tonight, irrespective of the result, I’ll have a glass of wine, toast the squad and enjoy the memories of the season, remembering that this is probably as good as it gets.”

11.35am BST

Norwich name an unchanged side from the XI named for the 2-1 loss at Watford. West Ham make one change, captain Mark Noble replacing Chelsea match-winner Andriy Yarmolenko, who drops to the bench. Normally this sort of as-you-were news would be filed under our If It Ain’t Broke banner, but, well, y’know.

11.32am BST

Norwich City: Krul, Aarons, Godfrey, Klose, Lewis, Vrancic, Tettey, Buendia, Stiepermann, Hernandez, Pukki.
Subs: Rupp, Cantwell, Trybull, Drmic, McLean, Duda, McGovern, Idah, Martin.

West Ham United: Fabianski, Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Bowen, Noble, Fornals, Antonio.
Subs: Balbuena, Yarmolenko, Lanzini, Wilshere, Haller, Masuaku, Ajeti, Randolph, Johnson.

11.02am BST

Let’s face it. Norwich City - and their fans can send gifts of thanks to the usual address if this somehow tempts fate - are going down. They’re on a six-game losing streak, and defeat here this lunchtime will see them cashiered straight back to the Championship. It’s really not looking good for Daniel Farke’s pretty but lightweight side.

But it’s not as though West Ham are out of the woods either. They may be three points above the relegation zone, with a far healthier goal difference than 18th-placed Bournemouth, but they’ve lost nine of their last 14 league matches, and the thrill of their recent 3-2 victory over Chelsea is all but gone, after twice shipping the lead at Newcastle, then going down meekly at home to Burnley. Once today is out of the way, two of their last three matches are against fellow relegation battlers - Watford and Aston Villa - while the other is at super-hot Manchester United. They could really do with a result that would relieve a lot of the pressure they’ll be feeling now.

Continue reading...

Everton 1-1 Southampton: Premier League – as it happened

James Ward-Prowse missed a first-half penalty in a relatively uneventful game that the Saints should probably have won

8.43pm BST

That’s all from Goodison. Andy Hunter was there, and here’s his verdict. Be about your business: click and enjoy! Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!

Related: Richarlison rescues point for lacklustre Everton against Southampton

Related: Bournemouth's Wilson and King see efforts ruled out to reprieve Tottenham

8.23pm BST

Carlo Ancelotti’s verdict. “The first half, we didn’t deserve to draw. They played better, they were more in control. It was really difficult. I was disappointed, we left a lot of space between the lines, we were not in control. We were happier in the second half but it was not enough. Richarlison scored a fantastic goal.” As for the Europa League? “It is not a good result but we have to keep fighting to see what happens. We have to do some great results. It will not be easy but we have to try.”

8.15pm BST

Ralph Hasenhuttl seems happy enough, albeit a little frustrated, telling Amazon Prime: “I think we can kill the game in the first half if we are more clinical. The post and the penalty and everything. Last game we gave 26 chances away; this time two or three. We didn’t play like an away team, we played a grown-up game, for me it’s a good thing. It was tactically demanding but we had good organisation on the pitch and I always felt we had control and the better chances.” He also gives short shrift to the idea of taking penalty duties away from James Ward-Prowse and handing them to Golden Boot chasing Danny Ings.

7.58pm BST

Everton improved in the second half, to be fair. But they’d been thoroughly outplayed in the first by Saints, who missed a penalty, hit the crossbar, and were generally the prettier package. It was obvious which of the two teams are further down the road of their respective - many apologies for using this word - projects. The Carlo Ancelotti Era is still very much in its infancy; Ralph Hasenhuttl’s work is slowly beginning to bear fruit. Saints, not for the first time in their recent history, look like they’ll reap the rewards for some patient and judicious long-term planning.

7.54pm BST

And that’s that. Saints will wonder how they’ve not won this match. The teams remain in 11th and 12 spot respectively.

7.53pm BST

90 min +1: Digne totters on the tightrope out on the left. He then crosses deep into the stand. He wants a corner, but he’s not getting one, and he’s booked for pushing the point with the referee.

7.52pm BST

90 min: There will be two added minutes. “Is Will Smallbone related to Gavin Peacock?” wonders Mac Millings, who is now #cancelled.

7.50pm BST

88 min: Saints sub: Armstrong is replaced by Smallbone.

7.49pm BST

86 min: Coleman barges into the back of Redmond, and this is a free kick in Everton territory, out on the left. The ball’s then swung in by Redmond and cushioned down by Long, offering Armstrong the chance to shoot from 20 yards. He blooters wildly over the bar.

7.47pm BST

84 min: Armstrong, Ings and Hojberg tease Everton down the right with their constant movement. Ings suddenly switches play with a looped cross, and Redmond curls a diagonal shot wide right from the edge of the box. Much more of this and we can officially say that Everton are hanging on.

7.45pm BST

83 min: Ings jigs in from the left but can’t fashion enough space to shoot. Saints are looking the more likely to find that elusive winner.

7.44pm BST

82 min: More Southampton triangles. Everton are sitting deep, refusing to budge.

7.43pm BST

80 min: Saints draw a few pretty triangles in Everton’s final third. Armstrong is at one tip of most of them. The home side hold their shape, though they surely need to do more, especially if they’re to realise Ancelotti’s dream of Europa League football.

7.40pm BST

78 min: Everton meanwhile have reverted back to their first-half selves. They can’t string two passes together at the moment.

7.39pm BST

76 min: Saints are beginning to regain the ascendancy. Their passes are sticking again. But not in the final third: Walker-Peters bursts down the right into an ocean of space, but his low cross is aimless and easily blocked and cleared.

7.36pm BST

74 min: Another Everton change: Bernard comes on for young Gordon.

7.34pm BST

72 min: Both teams fancy winning this. Kean probes down the left and nearly gets past Stephens; up the other end, Ings nearly releases Armstrong down the right, but his team-mate slips over at the vital moment. If another goal is coming, good luck predicting who’ll be scoring it.

7.32pm BST

70 min: The game restarts, but not before Saints replace Adams and Romeu with Long and Hojbjerg.

7.31pm BST

68 min: Calvert-Lewin heads a Sigurdsson corner harmlessly over the bar, and that’s his last contribution. He’s replaced by Kean. A good time for the referee to call for isotonic beverages. This time it’s Ralph Hasenhuttl who will welcome the time to regroup.

7.29pm BST

66 min: Pickford, the ball at his feet, either throws Ings a brilliant dummy, or slips and accidentally throws Ings a brilliant dummy. That was close.

7.28pm BST

64 min: The resulting free kick ends with Sidibe threading a shot towards the bottom right that’s easily snaffled by McCarthy. As for Bednarek’s yellow: it wasn’t 100 percent clear that he didn’t get a bit of the ball, at least not on the first few viewings, so perhaps the VAR operative decided that upping the punishment to red would have been pushing their luck a little bit too far.

7.26pm BST

62 min: VAR takes a long look, but there was arguably cover nearby, and Richarlison was arguably running at an angle taking him slightly away from goal, the ball heading that way too. Whatever’s going through the VAR noggin, it’s presumably not a clear-and-obvious mistake, so the decision stands.

7.24pm BST

60 min: Richarlison pounces on a loose Ward-Prowse pass and races towards the Saints box down the middle. As he reaches the D, Bednarek slides in and clips him over. A free kick, but only a yellow card. Richarlison is livid, he wants his opponent sent off.

7.22pm BST

59 min: But it’s Saints who nearly carve out the next chance, Redmond slipping a clever ball down the inside-right flank for Ings, who momentarily looks to have a yard on Keane. But just as he prepares to shoot, Keane sticks out a toe to deny him. Out for a corner, which leads to nothing.

7.20pm BST

58 min: Everton are much improved in this second half, though it’s been a low bar to clear. They’re asking Saints a few questions now.

7.19pm BST

56 min: Davies passes long down the inside-left channel. The ball drops to Calvert-Lewin, who should work McCarthy at the very least, but takes a fresh-air swipe. The ball clanks onto his hip and away, and Saints are able to clear. That’s poor. Such a fine pass from Davies, all for nowt.

7.17pm BST

55 min: Bednarek and Ings try to recreate, frame by frame, the Digne-Richarlison combination for the Everton goal. Not quite, the pass cut out by Keane at the very last minute.

7.15pm BST

53 min: Sigurdsson yanks a long shot wide right. A poor end to a slightly better period of play by Everton, Richarlison making a proper nuisance of himself right along the line.

7.13pm BST

51 min: That was great.

7.13pm BST

49 min: Ings flicks the ball on at the near post. There follows one of the most ridiculous periods of play in the entire history of top-flight football stretching back to 1888, a playground scramble with Ings at the centre of the junior-school stramash. A genuine comic-book cloud with boots sticking out of it, plus the words OOF, OOYAH, WAH and GAH displayed at jaunty angles. It ends after 20 seconds or so of pinball nonsense, with Ward-Prowse blootering a shot goalwards. The second corner is dealt with by Everton in a more grown-up style.

7.11pm BST

48 min: Ward-Prowse takes, looking to curl over the wall and into the top right. The ball pings off the top of Sigurdsson’s head and out for a corner. Another Ward-Prowse delivery coming up.

7.09pm BST

47 min: Armstrong dribbles with purpose down the inside right. He circumvents Keane with great ease, forcing the defender to clumsily shove him to ground, just to the right of the D. This is Ward-Prowse Country.

7.09pm BST

46 min: Ings immediately flicks adroitly down the inside-left channel for Adams, who curls towards the top right. It’s an easy enough parry for Pickford, but once again Everton were carved open easily, and what a delicious back-heel that was by the magnificent Ings. One of the players of the season, no question.

7.07pm BST

Saints get the second half underway. Everton have made one half-time change: Sidibe is on for Iwobi.

6.55pm BST

Half-time entertainment. For your listening leisure and pleasure ...

Related: Eddie Nketiah, Eric Dier and disciplinary debates – Football Weekly

6.53pm BST

Saints have been embarrassingly superior ... but a moment of combined brilliance by Digne and Richarlison means Everton can regroup on level terms. It’s been a lot of fun.

6.52pm BST

45 min +5: Now Mina is down, having taken an elbow in the neck from Redmond. It’s just as well we’re nearing the break, because this is threatening to turn into the Battle of Santiago.

Related: Chile 2-0 Italy: 1962 World Cup, the Battle of Santiago – as it happened

6.51pm BST

45 min +3: Digne hooks into the Saints box from the left. McCarthy punches clear with purpose. Redmond threatens to counter down the left, but Bednarek is down with a sore noggin so the ref stops the game. Redmond isn’t particularly happy about the decision.

6.49pm BST

45 min +2: Two of the four added minutes are used up treating Adams, who is eventually good to go again.

6.48pm BST

45 min: It all kicks off as Richarlison slides recklessly through the back of Adams. It’s a yellow card all day long, but Richarlison is beside himself with anger, and a few shoves later there’s a gentle melee brewing away. Eventually it dies down, though Calvert-Lewin has earned a booking too, for his part in the brouhaha.

6.47pm BST

Out of nothing, Everton are level! Digne, tight on the left touchline near halfway, swings a glorious crossfield pass to Richarlison, making his way down the inside-right channel. Richarlison takes a touch to bring the ball down, then flicks it powerfully towards the top right. McCarthy gets a weak hand to it, but can’t stop it. Ancelotti springs from the bench to celebrate, more out of relief than anything else.

6.45pm BST

43 min: Walker-Peters races down the right. He’s barged over - legally - by Digne, but springs up immediately like Denis Law in his prime. He nips the ball back to Armstrong, whose quick cross is flick-headed over by Adams.

6.43pm BST

42 min: Gomes is down, having taken a knock to his ankle. He’ll not be able to continue, the physio performing the internationally recognised hand-jive for ‘send on the sub’. On comes Sigurdsson, who has been misfiring woefully of late.

6.41pm BST

40 min: Richarlison skitters down the left but is forced to turn tail by Stephens, sticking to him excellently given he’s on a yellow card. But Ward-Prowse comes in clumsily to needlessly flip the Everton striker over. He’s fortunate not to get booked himself. Gordon takes the resulting free kick, Iwobi heading harmlessly over from 12 yards.

6.39pm BST

38 min: Saints stroke it around the back for a bit. Everton are chasing shadows right now. On the touchline, Carlo Ancelotti has the good grace to look extremely concerned.

6.38pm BST

36 min: Ings is now on 19 goals for the season, level with Mohamed Salah in third place in the race for the Golden Boot. He’s three behind the leader Jamie Vardy, and one behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

6.37pm BST

34 min: Stephens clatters his studs high into Richarlison. He’ll be booked for that when play stops, but play goes on as Gordon races towards the Saints box. Walker-Peters comes across to shoulder-charge Gordon off the ball. Goal kick. Everton want a penalty, and there was certainly contact, but the referee isn’t interested. Nor is VAR. Strange, because that didn’t look like a particularly clean challenge.

6.35pm BST

33 min: Saints are playing some excellent football here. Redmond and Ings flick their way daintily down the left and once again nearly open Everton up. Keane just about manages to clear. Everton have been little short of appalling.

6.34pm BST

Armstrong advances down the inside-right channel for the hundredth time. He opts to shoot, but scuffs it. No matter! The ball dribbles through to Ings, who takes a rather scruffy touch to flick the ball right to left, taking Pickford out of the game, and prodding home from a couple of yards. That, it is safe to say, had been coming. It’s no more than Saints deserve.

6.32pm BST

30 min: Replays of that Pickford save, just prior to the penalty, suggest the keeper was a little fortunate. Ings’ header came off the crossbar, then Pickford, clawing, whacked it off the woodwork again! But so much for his good luck, because ...

6.31pm BST

29 min: Ward-Prowse misses! He aims towards the top left in the style of Chris Waddle. Way too much juice behind it. The ball clips the top of the bar and over. Saints deserve to be leading, but they’re not.

6.30pm BST

27 min: Ward-Prowse curls viciously towards the near post. Ings tries to guide the ball into the top left but Pickford claws it out sensationally. Is it a futile effort, though? Because the ball comes back at Everton, Gomes bringing Ward-Prowse down clumsily. It’s a cheap penalty, but a penalty it is.

6.28pm BST

26 min: Ward-Prowse, that dead-ball specialist, whipcracks a free kick over the wall and towards the top. It’s probably going over, but Pickford can’t take chances, and fingertips over. And from the corner ...

6.27pm BST

25 min: Saints restart on the front foot, Redmond whipping a vicious ball in from the left. Keane heads clear, but Ings is soon driving back at them, and Gomes and Mina illegally shut the door. Free kick, just to the left of the box.

6.25pm BST

23 min: And that, ladies and gentlemen, is drinks. A time for Everton to take tactical stock.

6.24pm BST

22 min: So having said that, Everton very nearly score. Gordon slips Digne free down the left. Digne crosses. Richarlison flicks on. Iwobi is free, ten yards out, just to the right of centre! But he batters his shot straight at McCarthy, who parries well at the near post. The resulting corner is a non-event.

6.22pm BST

21 min: Everton can’t handle Southampton’s press. They’re really struggling to retain possession.

6.20pm BST

19 min: Armstrong nearly steals the ball off a sleepy Davies in the centre circle. Davies just about gets away with it, waking up just in time to lay off. Another nanosecond, and Saints were four on two. Southampton are a yard ahead of Everton right now.

6.19pm BST

17 min: Armstrong dinks another pass down the inside-right channel. Ings latches onto it inside the area, and spins to set up Ward-Prowse, whose shot is blocked. Saints come again, and this time it’s Adams who has a dig from the edge of the area stopped at source. Saints are well on top here. Everton’s defenders are getting pulled this way and that. Ings and Adams are weaving some very smart patterns, always on the move.

6.17pm BST

15 min: Digne tries to surprise McCarthy by whipping the free kick around the wall and into the bottom-left corner. It’s always heading wide.

6.16pm BST

14 min: Richarlison is again brought down as he makes his way along the inside-left channel. It’s Armstrong this time, and that’s the first booking of the match. Armstrong doesn’t bother arguing much; it was a late and cynical challenge

6.15pm BST

13 min: Redmond teases Mina down the left. The ball’s shuttled infield towards Ward-Prowse, who dinks a clever pass down the inside-right channel with a view to finding Walker-Peters, romping into the box ahead of Digne. Walker-Peters sticks out a leg but can’t connect. Goal kick. But that’s more good football from Saints.

6.13pm BST

11 min: Gordon has a chance to release Richarlison with a raking quarterback’s pass, Saints light at the back, but he overcooks it and the ball flies out for a goal kick. Good game so far.

6.12pm BST

10 min: Armstrong is seeing a lot of the ball in these early stages. The Scottish international runs at Everton down the right again, looking momentarily dangerous before heading down a cul-de-sac. Saints have been the better team in these early exchanges.

6.10pm BST

8 min: Ings grooves down the left and reaches the byline before hooking long towards Adams at the far post. Adams gets to the ball before Pickford, rashly chasing, and steers it back across the face of goal. Armstrong contorts his body to hook the ball into the unguarded net. But the flag goes up immediately for offside. It’s the correct decision ... but also a fine move by Saints, even if it was ultimately futile.

6.09pm BST

7 min: Armstrong and Adams work well down the right. Adams slips a pass inside for his strike partner Ings, who tries to spin Digne but the full-back’s not having it. He stands his ground and Pickford comes out to gather.

6.07pm BST

6 min: Not really, no.

6.06pm BST

5 min: Iwobi clips Redmond out on the left, fooled by the drop of a shoulder and a quick shuffle of the feet. Now it’s Saints’ turn to load the opposition box. Bertrand hoicks it in long, forcing Digne to head behind at the far post. Corner. Will it be any better than Everton’s first miserable effort?

6.05pm BST

3 min: Richarlison, surrounded by four Saints players out on the left, releases Calvert-Lewin with an outrageous back-heel. But the flag goes up, correctly, for offside. Shame, because that was a sensational bit of skill, though Calvert-Lewin still had a way to go and plenty of time to think about his shot.

6.03pm BST

2 min: The first foul of the evening as Stephens stops Richarlison making good down the inside-left channel. A chance to load the box. Gordon swings it towards the far post, and its a fine ball that Stephens needs to flick out for a corner with Calvert-Lewin lurking. Digne’s corner isn’t all that, but this is a decent start by Everton, who were so listless at Spurs three days ago.

6.01pm BST

Everton get the ball rolling ... but not before all the players take a knee of solidarity and love. Black lives matter.

5.57pm BST

The teams are out! Sirens blaze atmospherically as Saints take to the Goodison pitch in their black-and-yellow change shirts. Then a traditional blast of Z Cars as Everton turn up in their famous blue. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes!

5.51pm BST

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s turn. “We have made a few good decisions and played some really good games since then [the infamous 0-9] and we have more confidence. If you want to take something against a big club like Manchester City you have to have a nearly perfect game, and today will not be any easier. We want to show we are competitive against this team.”

5.40pm BST

Carlo Ancelotti talks up the opposition. “Southampton are a good team, strong, well organised defensively, good on the counter, they score a lot of goals.” But he desperately wants all three points today, because “there is still a chance to make the Europa League, though we have to win a lot of games”.

5.11pm BST

Everton make two changes to the team that went down tamely at Spurs. Yerry Mina replaces the injured Mason Holgate, while Gylfi Sigurdsson makes way for Anthony Gordon.

Southampton, perhaps unsurprisingly having just beaten the outgoing champions, are in If It Ain’t Broke mode. No changes.

5.11pm BST

Everton: Pickford, Coleman, Mina, Keane, Digne, Iwobi, Davies, Gomes, Gordon, Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison.
Subs: Baines,Sigurdsson, Walcott, Sidibe, Bernard, Stekelenburg, Kean, Branthwaite, Baningime.

Southampton: McCarthy, Walker-Peters, Stephens, Bednarek, Bertrand, Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Redmond, Ings, Adams.
Subs: Long, Obafemi, Hojbjerg, Smallbone, Gunn, Vokins, Danso, Ferry, Jankewitz.

12.02pm BST

Southampton are one of the feelgood stories of the season. Thrashed 9-0 at home back in October, they’ve just beaten one of the best teams in Europe with a 50-yard wonder goal. Some turnaround, and a textbook study in keeping faith with a talented manager going through a rough patch. With three wins from four since the big restart, Saints are arriving on Merseyside full of confidence that they can do a number on their hosts this evening.

But those hosts are in an optimistic place too. Everton have been meandering for years and years, but the arrival of superstar coach Carlo Ancelotti has sparked hope and joy round Goodison way. It’s only the start of their journey together, but 25 points from 15 games under the Italian legend, having taken just 19 from the previous 18 matches, show that the repairs to the foundations that have long been necessary are being undertaken with great zeal.

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Brighton 1-3 Liverpool: Premier League – as it happened

Mo Salah scored twice as Brighton made fast-starting Liverpool work for the three points

Read Ed Aarons’ match reportKlopp knows Liverpool have not broken Man City’s record yet

12.19am BST

Related: Jürgen Klopp knows Liverpool have not broken Manchester City's record yet

10.46pm BST

According to Sky, Jordan Henderson has gone for a scan on a knee injury picked up in that collision with Yves Bissouma. A downbeat end to an otherwise good night for the new champions. Ed Aarons was at the Amex. His report has landed; you know what to do. Click and enjoy ... and thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!

Related: Liverpool prove too good for Brighton thanks to Mohamed Salah double

10.43pm BST

Jurgen Klopp’s verdict. “When they played build-up we had a super solution. But for the rest they left two offensive players between the lines and it was difficult to protect it. We did pretty well in most situations, but when you lose the ball at the wrong moment that’s when they have the chances. They deserved their goal but we could have scored again, and it’s all good. Neco Williams had a yellow card, and we didn’t protect him well enough. I could not tell him don’t do a challenge, it is a professional game, so we brought Robbo on. I liked a lot and he is confident. There is absolutely no problem.”

10.39pm BST

Graham Potter’s verdict. “I think we played well and gave a good account of ourselves, especially going 2-0 down in the manner we did. Liverpool smelt blood. So it was great personality to drag ourselves back into the game. We created some chances before scoring a really good goa. So we put a lot into the game, and have a lot of positives to take. We obviously have to improve as well. Our decision-making can improve, but we want to try to play our game against the best, and we’ll learn from that tonight. The boys gave everything and I’m really happy with them.”

10.24pm BST

Salah speaks! “I think it was a good game for fans to watch. They play really well from the back and had a good game. Scoring early made it easier but they played a good game. After 2-1 they had more confidence and were close to a second, so when I scored the third one it made us calm again and we had more confidence that the game was almost over.” He’s then asked if he’s thinking about the Golden Boot, and cracks a wide grin as he insists he’s taking it “game by game”. But we know what he’s thinking, don’t we, kids?

10.17pm BST

Salah doesn’t appear too unhappy, though. He’s all smiles after scoring twice, closing the gap on Jamie Vardy in the chase for the Golden Boot to three goals. He’s got 19 to Vardy’s 22, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in between on 20. Liverpool meanwhile get three points closer in their pursuit of a record points total, moving onto 92 points. Three wins from their final four matches and it’s theirs. A big ask, with matches against Arsenal and Chelsea still to come. Brighton meanwhile remain in 15th on 36 points, but will be happy with a display that was at turns gritty and adventurous. They’re an emerging side under Graham Potter and will surely avoid relegation.

10.12pm BST

There’s just enough time for Salah to spurn an excellent chance to claim the match ball, but heads his hat-trick opportunity from a left-wing Robertson cross over from six yards. And that’s that!

10.11pm BST

90 min +6: Milner rolls a pass down the inside-right channel to release Minamino, who should score his first Liverpool goal but takes a heavy touch and the chance is gone.

10.10pm BST

90 min +4: Robertson burning up the left again. He fires low towards the near post. Mane tries to flick home but Ryan blocks. Salah has a go, falling backwards at a tight angle on the left. Ryan flicks over the bar. The resulting corner is no good. No matter.

10.08pm BST

90 min +3: Robertson romps down the wing again and cuts back for Mane, whose attempted curler towards the top right is always heading wide. Salah, in the middle on a hat-trick, is furious.

10.07pm BST

90 min +2: Mane has the chance to feed Robertson, haring down the left on the overlap, but fails to take it. A poor decision, though it’s unlikely to prove costly.

10.05pm BST

90 min: Stephens sends Connolly scampering clear down the middle. Van Dijk and Gomez hold the line, and the flag goes up for offside. Just. Liverpool haven’t defended well tonight, though you can give Brighton plenty of credit for that. There will be six minutes of added time.

10.04pm BST

89 min: Minamino has come on for Firmino, incidentally.

10.03pm BST

88 min: Connolly goes at Gomez again, down the left touchline, and is cynically dragged back. A yellow card. It’s only not a red because there were covering team-mates in the middle.

10.03pm BST

87 min: Connolly demonstrates the point by driving past a snoozing Gomez down the inside-left channel, entering the box, and whipping a low shot-cum-cross through the six-yard box. There’s nobody in blue and white to prod home.

10.01pm BST

86 min: Lamptey has looked more impressive going forwards than backwards, and here he’s booked for illegally impeding Mane as the Liverpool man sailed down the left. From the resulting free kick, Wijnaldum sends a header over the bar from close range. That was a chance to put this beyond any doubt whatsoever. Brighton still retain a little hope.

10.00pm BST

85 min: Stephens, quarterbacking from deep, shovels a clever chip down the middle to find Trossard free just inside the box. Gomez was playing him onside. Trossard flicks wildly at the dropping ball and sends it sailing harmlessly over the bar. What a chance.

9.58pm BST

83 min: Mane hassles Lamptey down the left and wins a corner. Brighton struggle to clear the set piece, and Mane attempts a curler towards the top left, but it’s blocked and Lamptey clears.

9.56pm BST

81 min: Some head tennis in the Liverpool box leads to a corner for Brighton. Nothing happens at it. But Brighton haven’t thrown in the towel yet, and Liverpool don’t look comfortable when attacked.

9.55pm BST

80 min: A further cost to Liverpool: Henderson has injured himself in making that challenge. He’s replaced by Milner, who makes his 536th Premier League appearance. Only Gareth Barry, Ryan Giggs, Frank Lampard and David James have made more top-flight appearances since football was invented in 1992.

9.54pm BST

78 min: Brighton finally discover an escape route, and Bissouma is hit by a double whammy from Fabinho and Henderson as he dribbles upfield. It earns Fabinho a booking.

9.53pm BST

77 min: Liverpool will have been fretting. Now they suddenly look a whole lot calmer, more like the champions they are. They ping it around, Brighton finding it hard to get out of their box. All of a sudden, it’s not Brighton looking for an equaliser, but Liverpool probing for a fourth.

9.51pm BST

Robertson whips towards the near post. Salah stoops and guides his 19th league goal of the season into the bottom right, Brighton caught cold.

9.50pm BST

75 min: Robertson and Mane combine at speed to romp past Lamptey on the left. Mane cuts back for Henderson, whose shot from distance comes off Dunk’s back and flies out for a corner on the right. From which ...

9.49pm BST

74 min: Bissouma sashays down the middle of the park before sliding a pass down the right for Connolly, who wins a corner off Gomez. Mooy takes. Alisson comes off his line and flaps, beaten to the ball by Dunk, whose skimmed header flies harmlessly wide right.

9.48pm BST

73 min: Henderson finds Mane down the right. He wants a return pass, but Mane decides to float one into the box instead. It’s easy meat for Ryan.

9.46pm BST

72 min: Brighton get round to making their subs. Propper, Mac Allister and Gross make way for Bissouma, Mooy and Connolly.

9.46pm BST

70 min: But the game restarts before Brighton can make their changes. Firmino buzzes around at high velocity, pressing Brighton back and nearly making space for Salah in the box. Not quite, but the message from Klopp is clear: pick up the tempo.

9.44pm BST

69 min: More drinks, and another burst of Waterfront. Time for Klopp to deliver what looks like a passionate bollocking, while Brighton prepare a triple substitution.

9.43pm BST

67 min: Henderson crudely shoulders Mac Allister to the ground. It’s only a garden-variety foul, but illustrative of Liverpool’s frustration. They’re being pushed hard here by Graham Potter’s increasingly impressive side. Something is slowly happening on the south coast. Next season could be fun.

9.41pm BST

66 min: Firmino is nearly sent clear by Burn’s undercooked backpass, but Ryan comes out to clear. From the resulting throw, Wijnaldum wins a corner on the right. The ball’s lumped into the box. Van Dijk is penalised for pushing, and the pressure on Brighton is immediately relieved.

9.39pm BST

64 min: Fabinho’s first act is much more positive, spraying a delightful long diagonal pass towards Salah on the left. Salah has Mane free in the middle, but Lamptey sticks to his side and there’s no chance to cross. Instead Salah is forced to shoot from a tight angle. A corner, that leads to nothing. Lamptey is a real player.

9.37pm BST

62 min: Liverpool make a double change. Off goes the impressive Keita and the less magnificent Oxlade-Chamberlain. On come Fabinho and Mane, and the latter almost immediately goes in the book for flinging an arm in Lamptey’s face.

9.36pm BST

60 min: Lamptey continues to be a thorn in Liverpool’s right side. He nearly turns Robertson inside out, but has to settle for a corner. From the set piece, the ball’s swung in from the right and flicked on to Burn, who is free, six yards out, level with the left-hand post. He slices a defender’s effort across Alisson towards the bottom right, but Gomez is able to slash clear. Brighton should be level.

9.34pm BST

59 min: Robertson crosses deep from the left. Henderson, on the right-hand corner of the box, meets the ball with a swerving volley that Ryan does extremely well to read. That was moving all over the shop and can’t have been easy to handle. A fine effort, with a save to match.

9.32pm BST

57 min: Oxlade-Chamlerlain has a bash from 25 yards. It’s blocked out for a throw, which leads to a corner. Nothing comes of that. Liverpool are beginning to re-establish themselves, though.

9.31pm BST

55 min: Alexander-Arnold overruns the ball and catches Mac Allister’s shin while trying to retrieve it. It’s not a pretty challenge. It seemed clumsy rather than deliberate, though you’ve seen action taken for those.

9.29pm BST

53 min: So having said that, Salah almost immediately skitters down the right and makes it to the box. He’s one on one with Ryan, but telegraphs his intention to curl into the bottom left, and his effort is blocked. A reminder to Brighton that, while they’re playing extremely well, one small lapse could quickly scupper any hopes of completing the comeback.

9.28pm BST

52 min: Maupay sends a ball down the left towards Gross. Van Dijk comes across to execute a fine block tackle that forces Gross to run the ball out for a goal kick. Had he not made it, Gross was free on goal. Liverpool aren’t exactly hanging on ... but Brighton look the more likely right now.

9.25pm BST

50 min: Robertson and Oxlade-Chamberlain combine down the right, the latter swanning past Lamptey. Oxlade-Chamberlain fizzes a low cross towards Firmino at the near post, but Ryan reads it well to smother.

9.24pm BST

49 min: Maupay and Burn combine well down the left, nearly opening Liverpool up. Then Lamptey has a whack from the best part of 30 yards. It’s fair to say that Brighton have fully regained their confidence after their flat start.

9.21pm BST

47 min: Alexander-Arnold rakes one down the middle for Salah, who can’t quite get there. Ryan comes to the edge of his box to claim just in time.

9.20pm BST

Liverpool get the second half underway. They’ve made a change, replacing young Neco Williams with the slightly longer in the tooth Andy Robertson. Williams wasn’t getting a chasing, but Lamptey got the better of him a couple of times, and he was on a yellow card, so it’s a prudent swap. As for Brighton, it’s as you were.

9.07pm BST

Half-time entertainment. Our new Forgotten Stories of Football podcast examines the team that so very nearly met Liverpool in the 1984 European Cup final.

Related: Dundee United's glory years under Jim McLean: part one of two – podcast

9.05pm BST

This looked like a mismatch after eight minutes. But it’s a proper game now. Liverpool flew out of the blocks, but Brighton have been the better team since that early two-goal salvo. An entertaining second half awaits us all.

9.04pm BST

45 min +3: The corner’s wasted.

9.03pm BST

45 min +2: Stephens ships possession carelessly, allowing Salah and Firmino to jog purposefully towards the Brighton box. Firmino slips to Oxlade-Chamberlain on his left. Oxlade-Chamberlain goes for a power curler towards the top right, but Webster slides in to take a block for the team. Corner.

9.01pm BST

45 min +1: The first of four added minutes breezes by without incident.

9.01pm BST

But this is sheer quality! Lamptey tears down the right, sent clear by a cute reverse ball from Gross. Lamptey curls low towards Trossard, on the penalty spot. Trossard meets the cross so sweetly, sweeping powerfully into the bottom right, leaving Alisson no chance! That had been coming, and Brighton deserve their goal.

8.59pm BST

44 min: All a bit scrappy for the first time in a free-flowing game.

8.58pm BST

42 min: The resulting free kick is both a chance to load the box and a thundering non-event. But Brighton are soon coming back at the champions, Trossard racing down the left and nearly finding Maupay in the centre. Not quite, and Liverpool clear their lines. Brighton are the better team right now.

8.57pm BST

41 min: Webster loops a pass down the right for Lamptey, who gets in front of Williams and draws a crude foul from behind. Williams goes in the book, another Premier League landmark for the 19-year-old full debutant.

8.54pm BST

39 min: Keita rolls a pass down the right for Salah, who cuts across the face of the box and curls towards the top left. Ryan, his feet rooted to the spot, is beaten all ends up, but is pleased to see Salah’s effort whistle past the other side of the post. For a nanosecond, that looked ominous for Brighton.

8.53pm BST

37 min: Maupay swings one in from the left. Williams is forced to head behind for a corner, under pressure from Gross. The corner’s played out to Stephens, who whips a shot wide right from the edge of the box. That had Alisson scrambling, though I think he had it covered.

8.51pm BST

36 min: Trossard glides in from the left. Upon reaching the box, he takes his shot. But he’s denied by a fine sliding block from Gomez. Brighton are working some really fine positions.

8.50pm BST

34 min: It’s a really entertaining match, this. Maupay sashays in from the right and makes it as far as the box, but by the time he opts to shoot, he’s closed down by Henderson and Van Dijk. Brighton are beginning to threaten up front. They’re not out of this by any means.

8.48pm BST

33 min: Alexander-Arnold crosses from the right. Firmino flicks on at the near post. Oxlade-Chamberlain is this close to heading it home at the far post.

8.47pm BST

31 min: Gross busies himself 30 yards from the Liverpool goal and panics Henderson into a backwards header that only just reaches Alisson. Liverpool then sweep up the other end, Keita winning the ball to send his team-mates forward. Oxlade-Chamberlain chips cleverly down the middle to find Firmino in the box, but Webster and Dunk surround the Brazilian, who can only weakly poke forward to Ryan as a result.

8.45pm BST

29 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain runs slap-bang into Webster and takes an accidental one in the eye from his opposite number 15. He has to do quite a lot of hard blinking before he’s good to go again.

8.44pm BST

28 min: Nothing comes from the corner. But it’s been a good couple of minutes by Brighton, who have steadied themselves after that awful start.

8.43pm BST

27 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain and Firmino flick their way down the inside-left channel and win a corner. From the set piece, Oxlade-Chamberlain takes a whack, but Brighton block and sweep up the other end. Trossard flies down the left at speed, and whips low towards Maupay at the near post. Maupay’s flick goalwards is stopped by Alisson and tapped out for a corner by Keita.

8.41pm BST

26 min: A long ball down the right surprises the Liverpool back line. Gross skedaddles into plenty of space and rolls across for Trossard, who slams home. But the flag had gone up for offside and Liverpool had, by then, long stopped. VAR has a quick look, but the initial decision was correct.

8.40pm BST

24 min: And that’s drinks! Soundtracked, extremely literally, by bombast-era Simple Minds.

8.39pm BST

23 min: Now it’s Lamptey’s turn to leave Williams standing, ripping down the right at speed. He overruns the ball and fouls the covering Henderson, but that’s a fine run. He was impressive as an attacking wing-back against Norwich on Saturday, and looks the part going forward again here.

8.37pm BST

21 min: Williams is buzzing around everywhere, very much enjoying his full debut. Now he dances down the left, but after performing a Steve Nicol shuffle, can’t find Firmino or Salah in the middle with his dinked cross.

8.36pm BST

20 min: Brighton nearly grab a goal back, Gross and Maupay working some space down the inside-left channel. Wijnaldum half-intercepts in the box, but only tees up Trossard, who shoots from 12 yards. Williams slides in brilliantly to block and deflect the effort over the bar. The resulting corner is a non-event.

8.35pm BST

18 min: Salah and Firmino combine down the middle, the latter being fouled by Lamptey. Salah was in the business of feeding Williams into space down the left, but the referee doesn’t play advantage. Nothing comes of the free kick.

8.33pm BST

16 min: Maupay leaves a little something on Henderson, standing on the top of his foot. Nothing more than a foul, and probably just clumsy rather than spiteful, though you’ve seen yellow cards given for plenty of challenges like that.

8.31pm BST

14 min: Keita looks in the mood tonight. He dribbles with speedy grace down the inside right, and slips a ball further down the channel for Salah, who floats a tame shot straight into the arms of Ryan. (Apologies for Prince earworm.) Salah was almost certainly offside anyway.

8.29pm BST

13 min: Hearts in Liverpool mouths for the first time as Mac Allister, now fully repaired, chases a long ball down the middle. He’d have been free on goal, had Alisson not read the situation and raced from his area quickly to head clear.

8.28pm BST

12 min: Liverpool continue to ping it around. Brighton can’t get a sniff.

8.27pm BST

10 min: Mac Allister has taken an accidental whack upside the head. Blood runs down his face. On comes the physio. “Brighton may have to go back to the 60s for their last league home victory over Liverpool, but they did it in the FA Cup in 1984,” recalls Ben Mimmack. “I remember because my Dad came back from the match and told me they were going to the final again. Three weeks later they were hammered by Watford in the fifth round and that was that.” They’d beaten Liverpool at Anfield the year before, too, en route to the 1983 final you mention, former Liverpool midfielder Jimmy Melia the manager. Both results sending huge shockwaves all over the land. Ah the magic of the cup, huh kids.

8.24pm BST

Brighton gift Liverpool another. Webster strides upfield but is swarmed by Henderson and Keita. Liverpool sweep forward though Firmino, who passes to Henderson to his right. The captain lashes into the top left from 25 yards. What a start by the champions! On the touchline, Graham Potter looks slightly stunned.

8.22pm BST

Brighton play out from the back ... and straight into trouble. Ryan passes to Propper, who is immediately stripped by Keita. Fine pressing. Keita slips the ball to Salah on his right; Salah opens his body and calmly slots the ball into the bottom left. Easy as that.

8.20pm BST

5 min: Alexander-Arnold swings one in from the right. Salah can’t win a header, but the ball breaks to Firmino, whose shot is deflected wide left. Nothing comes from the resulting corner.

8.20pm BST

3 min: Williams spins neatly past Lamptey on the left, but again Liverpool fail to drive home any advantage from the situation. A slightly uneasy start by the young Brighton right-back.

8.17pm BST

1 min: Van Dijk makes a bit of a meal in ushering the ball back to Alisson. Maupay nearly nips in, but the keeper smothers. Oxlade-Chamberlain then makes good down the left after Lamptey misjudges the bounce of a long ball, but fails to do anything with the good position. A bright start by both teams.

8.15pm BST

Brighton get the ball rolling ... but only after everyone takes a knee of solidarity, respect and love. Black lives matter.

8.13pm BST

The teams are out! Brighton are in their blue and white stripes, while Liverpool wear red. Brighton form a guard of honour for the new champions. Georginio Wijnaldum and Virgil van Dijk look highly amused by it all. We’ll be off in a minute, on a drizzly night under the floodlights in East Sussex.

8.10pm BST

More from Klopp, this time in praise of the hosts. “They have an interesting set-up. They fight to stay in the league, but do not play like this. They are a proper football team. They have a real plan and stick to it. Football-wise they have really clear patterns so they will be a challenge for us.”

8.09pm BST

Graham Potter on tonight’s challenge. “There are a lot of games, we have freshened things up in some areas. We have a fit squad, so we need to choose. We have to play this game with respect to the opposition, they are a top team. Regardless of anything else, we have to make sure our performance is good and work really hard. We’re playing the champions. If we’re short and not quite at our best, we’ll be defeated.”

8.05pm BST

Jurgen Klopp on full debutant Neco Williams. “He should just enjoy the game. We have to make sure that he is not alone. If he is alone, it should be in an offensive situation! Neco has showed he is ready. This is not a test. We need to make sure our intensity is right, and Andy Robertson has not had the same preparation as our other players. He was injured for ten days in our little pre-season. I am looking forward to it for him. He deserves it.”

7.30pm BST

Brighton make three changes to the team named for the victory at Norwich on Saturday. Dale Stephens, Pascal Gross and Alexis Mac Allister replace Yves Bissouma, Aaron Mooy and Aaron Connolly.

Liverpool make four chances to the team sent out to beat Aston Villa on Sunday. Neco Williams, Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Roberto Firmino replace Andy Robertson, Fabinho, Divock Origi and Sadio Mane. It’s a first Premier League start for the 19-year-old Williams.

7.23pm BST

Brighton & Hove Albion: Ryan, Lamptey, Webster, Dunk, Burn, Propper, Stephens, Gross, Mac Allister, Trossard, Maupay.
Subs: Duffy, Bissouma, Jahanbakhsh, Murray, Mooy, Montoya, Button, Bernardo, Connolly.

Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Williams, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Keita, Salah, Firmino, Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Subs: Fabinho, Milner, Mane, Adrian, Minamino, Robertson, Origi, Jones, Elliott.

7.19pm BST

Brighton & Hove Albion have only ever beaten Liverpool once in the league at home. That was at the old Goldstone Ground back in January 1961. Tony Nicholas, Dennis Windross and Roy Jennings got the goals in a 3-1 win that seriously dented Liverpool’s chances of promotion from the Second Division. Bill Shankly’s team - featuring the likes of Roger Hunt, Gordon Milne, Gerry Byrne and Ronnie Moran - finished the season in third place, and would have to wait another year to go up. Brighton ended the season in 16th.

Both clubs are in a far better place now. Brighton have made it to 36 points in the Premier League, a number big enough to ensure safety for the past two seasons, and surely big enough this time too. A fourth season of top-flight football awaits the Seagulls! Liverpool meanwhile have just ended that 30-year wait. Everybody happy!

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