Rob Smyth's Blog, page 139

October 13, 2018

Sri Lanka chasing 279 to beat England: second ODI – live!

Live updates from the Rangiri Dambulla International StadiumEngland 278-9 (Morgan 92, Root 71, Malinga 5-44)England’s recent record against spin is one of the best, says Root Email your thoughts to Rob

9.35am BST

1st over: Sri Lanka 9-1 (Dickwella 9, Chandimal 0) That was the last ball of the over.

9.35am BST

Niroshan Dickwella, a dangerous strokeplayer, gets the innings off to a flying start. He times Woakes’s second ball off his pads and Dilscoops the third to the boundary. <Youthoftoday>A Dilscoop off the third ball of the innings!</Youthoftoday>

And now a wicket off the sixth! Tharanga has gone for a golden duck, edging an excellent delivery through to Buttler. It was a perfect length from Woakes, with a bit of seam movement to find the edge as Tharanga fiddled outside off stump.

9.13am BST

“Morning, Rob,” says John Starbuck. “How about that from Lasith Malinga? You’d be wanting to look up a few stats to see what kind of success rate other fast-medium bowlers coming back from a long layoff/retirement achieved in ODIs. Getting a five-fer at international levels must be fairly rare for mid-30s players anyway.”

It happens a fair bit in Tests - morning, Jimmy - but it’s pretty rare in white-ball cricket. Malinga is only the fourth pace bowler aged 35 or over to take an ODI or T20 five-for, though Robin Singh was more RM than RFM.

9.10am BST

9.04am BST

Thanks Simon, morning everyone. While I inject some caffeine into my face, read the great Tanya Aldred on one of cricket’s happiest stories.

8.57am BST

An imperfect effort from England, but a decent total I think. There’s no doubt who will be hogging the headlines, though. Lasith Malinga says he thinks he can play “not like previous but I can do something for the team”, which is charmingly understated.

That’s all from me. Rob Smyth will be here shortly for Sri Lanka’s reply. Bye!

8.55am BST

50th over: England 278-9 (Rashid 19, Stone 9) Thisara bowls, and Rashid shuffles across and tries to ramp the ball over his shoulder, but the bowler sees him go, Rashid changes his mind and in the end gets nothing on the ball at all. But from there Rashid gets plenty of bat on ball, spearing the penultimate delivery past point for four, and then scooping the last in an identical direction but high, over the fielder for another!

8.49am BST

49th over: England 267-9 (Rashid 9, Stone 8) Malinga can’t complete the demolition of England in his final over, but it’s still been a remarkable performance - this is his first five-for in four and a half years.

8.45am BST

48th over: England 263-9 (Rashid 7, Stone 7) An over from Pradeep must feel like a holiday for England right now, nine runs coming off it. Malinga’s been magnificent. That slow, dipping yorker that did for Dawson was a beauty!

8.41am BST

47th over: England 254-9 (Rashid 5, Stone 0) Malinga’s back, after a brief break and a change of ends, and he does for Woakes with his first delivery. Then he welcomes Rashid with an inswinging, dipping yorker. Rashid gets four past point, though it might have been cut off before the rope, and then, after five balls, the umpires call over. The fielders change ends, Malinga stalks to the boundary, and then word reaches the umpire’s ears that they’ve miscounted. Everyone comes back, and with his extra bonus sixth delivery Malinga bowls Dawson! Brilliant stuff this!

8.40am BST

Another crazy dipping yorker bewitches a batsman, and Dawson’s gone!

8.34am BST

The ball looked to me like it was heading down leg, but DRS insists it was about to turn left and hit leg stump so Woakes is on his way!

8.33am BST

He totally fails to deal with Malinga’s slow ball, which bounces straight into him. The umpire thinks it’s going down leg, but Sri Lanka chance their arm with a review ...

8.32am BST

46th over: England 249-7 (Woakes 5, Dawson 4) Pradeep comes on allow Malinga to bowl the final over, and he gets rid of England’s ace! It wasn’t a brilliant delivery, but it was at least accurate. There follows a couple of yorkers and a bouncer at Dawson, the latter top-edged behind for four.

8.28am BST

And Buttler’s gone! It’s a slow full toss from Pradeep and Buttler doesn’t pick it, and has completed his shot when the ball passes him and clumps middle stump!

8.24am BST

45th over: England 239-7 (Buttler 24, Woakes 4) Malinga’s excellence means England have to score freely whenever he’s not bowling. Akila is the man at the other end, and Buttler hits one stonking four and gets a succession of twos. Twelve off the over.

8.20am BST

44th over: England 227-7 (Buttler 13, Woakes 3) Malinga, who is bowling just beautifully now, sends down another excellent yorker, which Woakes manages to dig out. Then another to Buttler, with additional bonus inswing, who does likewise, and then another at Woakes. Great stuff!

8.16am BST

43rd over: England 222-6 (Buttler 11, Woakes 0) Akila bowls, and Buttler scores three. What’s a good score from here? 270-plus and England would be fairly chirpy, you’d have thought.

8.13am BST

42nd over: England 219-6 (Buttler 8, Woakes 0) “It has to be said, that’s an anticlimax,” deadpans Rob Key, as Malinga flings his hat-trick delivery wildly over Woakes’s shoulder. No ball. From the free hit Woakes picks out a fielder, comes halfway down the wicket, is sent back and is very nearly run out.

Actual weather update: after a period of gathering clouds, the clouds have dispersed again. For the first time in a while, the sun is casting shadows - and Sri Lanka are stepping out of them. For England, it seems there are figurative stormclouds gathering.

8.09am BST

And Moeen goes first ball! It’s a hell of a welcome from Malinga, who fires in a perfect slow yorker, and the batsman is utterly bewildered!

8.06am BST

Morgan is undone by Malinga’s slower ball, and limply chips it back to the bowler!

8.04am BST

41st over: England 216-4 (Morgan 91, Buttler 7) Sandakan returns with his penultimate over, and Morgan spears the ball through the leg side and is a little unlucky, having appeared to split them, to see a couple of fielders combine to stop it reaching the rope. Still, seven off the over, in ones and twos.

7.59am BST

40th over: England 209-4 (Morgan 87, Buttler 4) Malinga returns, Morgan edges but with no slips it’s completely safe. A fine over from Malinga, with just three runs coming off it.

7.55am BST

39th over: England 206-4 (Morgan 87, Buttler 4) Da Silva bowls, and Morgan lifts one over mid-on for four, taking England past 200, and then sweeps twice, once straight to the fielder and the first time beyond his reach for four more.

7.52am BST

38th over: England 196-4 (Morgan 76, Buttler 2) Of England’s batsmen only Root has started particularly fluently. Morgan swiped, swished and poked his way to double figures and improved from there. Buttler has faced three deliveries so far, only failing to score from the first.

7.48am BST

37th over: England 190-4 (Morgan 72, Buttler 0) Three singles and a wicket makes that a fine over for Sri Lanka.

7.45am BST

Stokes stomps furiously from the field after the ball flies off the leading edge and straight to point!

7.42am BST

36th over: England 187-3 (Morgan 70, Stokes 14) Pradeep bowls, ending the spin supremacy, and that’s lovely from Stokes, who bullets the ball past mid-off for four.

Morgan's run rate before Root's dismissal was 4.62 runs per over. Since Root's wicket, he has upped it to 9.60 runs per over. #SLvEng

7.35am BST

35th over: England 181-3 (Morgan 69, Stokes 9) De Silva drops one short, and Morgan thwacks high but safe, over mid-on for four.

7.32am BST

34th over: England 174-3 (Morgan 64, Stokes 7) Morgan starts to motor, hitting through midwicket for four and past square leg for another.

7.29am BST

33rd over: England 164-3 (Morgan 55, Stokes 6) De Silva continues, and after four dots his final two deliveries go for singles. England are struggling a little to impose themselves.

7.26am BST

32nd over: England 162-3 (Morgan 54, Stokes 5) With plenty of turn in the pitch Sri Lanka keep the spinners spinning, Sandakan bowling his seventh over. England need to accelerate at some point, and after three singles from the first five balls Morgan sends the last squirming past mid-on - who might have been a little more committed with his attempt to cut it off - for four.

7.23am BST

31st over: England 155-3 (Morgan 49, Stokes 3) Di Silva bowls, and Morgan thunders straight back down the ground for six!

7.20am BST

30th over: England 147-3 (Morgan 42, Stokes 2) Sandakan returns, and Morgan welcomes him with an impeccable reverse sweep. Then Stokes attempts similar, only considerably less faultlessly. The ball loops off the top edge of the bat but lands safe.

7.17am BST

29th over: England 140-3 (Morgan 37, Stokes 0) That was the final ball of an otherwise incident-light over, and the wicket has come at a fine time for Sri Lanka. A couple of key overs to follow.

7.15am BST

De Silva comes on and makes the breakthrough! A leading edge sends the ball looping into the off side, and Akila takes a simple catch!

7.12am BST

28th over: England 138-2 (Root 69, Morgan 35) Thisara’s back, and Morgan flicks his second ball off his hip to long leg for four.

7.09am BST

27th over: England 132-2 (Root 69, Morgan 31) Dananjaya’s sixth over yields just one run, a combination of decent bowling and the batsmen repeatedly picking out fielders.

7.05am BST

26th over: England 131-2 (Root 69, Morgan 30) Morgan pushes to cover and runs, but the ball bounces straight to a fielder and if his shy at the stumps had been accurate Root was well short!

7.00am BST

25th over: England 127-2 (Root 67, Morgan 28) Morgan reverse-scoops the ball over his left shoulder. There’s a fielder at short third man for that, but the ball falls just short. Then he sweeps, and there’s nobody there for that. Four!

Root now has the England record for most runs between dismissals in ODI cricket - 66* today, 304 since he was last out. He's currently 15th on the world list. https://t.co/B6NchuMSOZ

6.57am BST

24th over: England 121-2 (Root 66, Morgan 23) Pradeep returns, and Root clips the final delivery through midwicket for four, after which his score matches his shirt number. Clouds are building over Dambulla now, but they still seem mainly of the white fluffy variety, rather than the more threatening dark grey.

6.52am BST

23rd over: England 115-2 (Root 61, Morgan 22) Akila is back, and he tempts Morgan into a wild slog-sweep, the bat going nowhere near the ball, which continued straight and bounced just over off stump. Morgan, after seven successive dots, lifts the final delivery over extra cover for a safe four.

6.48am BST

22nd over: England 110-2 (Root 60, Morgan 18) Root wants another drink, some dry gloves, and probably a shower and a lie-down. Only the first two are currently available, though he has come very close to expediting his shower. Malinga bowls, and England take a few singles.

6.44am BST

21st over: England 107-2 (Root 58, Morgan 17) Root gets away with one again! He hits the ball into his boot and it loops high and to the right of Dickwella, who gets a glove to it but sends it looping back across to his left, where it lands safely. It would have been an unlucky dismissal, sure, but it should probably have been a dismissal. Next ball Sandakan oversteps, and Root sends the free hit high but not quite long enough to reach the long-on boundary.

6.40am BST

20th over: England 99-2 (Root 50, Morgan 15) Malinga’s back. “If I’ve fallen asleep on the settee for four hours, then woken up and realised the cricket is on and started drinking again,” writes Greg Fearn. “Am I technically still on last night? I do hope so.” You haven’t been to bed, or indeed left the sofa, and the sun hasn’t come up, so I think it’s definitely still last night. Though with a bit of effort it could be this afternoon.

6.35am BST

19th over: England 96-2 (Root 50, Morgan 15) Dropped! A full toss from Sandakan was begging to be hit, and Root volleys it straight to De Silva at midwicket! It comes to him low and fairly hard, but he hardly has to move and really should pocket that one! Root goes on to get the couple of singles he needed to complete his 50, while Morgan snaffles four with a drive past point.

6.32am BST

18th over: England 88-2 (Root 48, Morgan 10) Thisara bowls his fifth over, which starts with three consecutive singles ends with three consecutive dots.

6.25am BST

17th over: England 85-2 (Root 46, Morgan 9) Sandakan continues to bowl well, but England find it pretty straightforward to work the ball away for singles. And, in one case, a double.

6.22am BST

16th over: England 80-2 (Root 44, Morgan 6) We have now officially had more cricket today than we got on Wednesday. So that’s something. Morgan gets off the mark off the final ball of the over - and how! He smashes over cow corner for the day’s first six!

Bairstow has been out bowled in six of his last 13 innings in international cricket. #SLvEng

Jonny Bairstow has been dismissed between 25 and 38 in his last five ODI innings

6.18am BST

15th over: England 73-2 (Root 43, Morgan 0) A fine over from Sandakan, with significant variety of pace as well as the spin, which on one occasion completely and profoundly befuddles Morgan.

6.15am BST

14th over: England 72-2 (Root 42, Morgan 0) Bairstow’s innings briefly looked about to blossom, but in the end never quite did. Consistent line and length from Thisara was enough, the ball going straight to clip off stump. Meanwhile the sun is still shining on Dambulla, but the forecast - though Ali Martin advised me to ignore it - is getting worse. The chance of rain hitting the town this afternoon is currently 99%. Messrs Duckworth and Lewis may well get a workout before the day is out.

This is the 24th occasion since the 2015 World Cup that England have passed 50 in the first Powerplay when batting first. They went on to post a score of 300+ on 19 of the previous 23 occasions. #SLvEng

6.14am BST

Bairstow might have felt compelled to his the last ball of the over, England having scored only a couple of singles. So he tries to do so, and doesn’t.

6.09am BST

13th over: England 70-1 (Bairstow 25, Root 41) More spin, from Sandakan, and every delivery brings a single.

6.07am BST

12th over: England 64-1 (Bairstow 22, Root 38) Just three off Thisara’s second over. I’d love to tell you more, but I’ve been sneaking in a bit of breakfast. Priorities.

6.03am BST

11th over: England 61-1 (Bairstow 20, Root 37) Akila continues, and Root scores six in the over, in ones and twos. “Losing the toss isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because winning the match matters most,” writes John Starbuck. “Do we have any stats about toss/match-winning for captains in ODIs and Morgan in particular? And does this differ according to the country?” In Sri Lanka since the start of 2015, more ODIs have been won by the team that lost the toss than by the team that won it. Sri Lanka themselves lead the way here, losing 12 and winning seven after winning the toss.

5.58am BST

10th over: England 54-1 (Bairstow 19, Root 31) Another bowling change, as Thisara Perera chances his arm. Root pushes past mid off, who spins and chases it down to restrict him to two.

5.54am BST

9th over: England 49-1 (Bairstow 18, Root 27) Having hit the final delivery of Akila’s first over for four, Bairstow does the same with the first delivery of his second, hoisting it over midwicket. Then a poor, straight ball is smashed in a similar direction for another four, Bairstow emerging from his cocoon and spreading his wings.

5.50am BST

8th over: England 39-1 (Bairstow 9, Root 26) Pradeep continues, and some excellent fielding from Shanaka denies Root another boundary.

5.47am BST

7th over: England 37-1 (Bairstow 8, Root 25) Akila comes on to do some spinning, and instantly gets some serious turn. That’ll encourage him, though the way Bairstow emerged from his funk to dismiss the final delivery of the over for four might undo that.

5.42am BST

6th over: England 30-1 (Bairstow 3, Root 23) Bairstow seems entirely out of touch, and in this over demonstrates a variety of mistimed swings and half-hearted prods. He finally gets a couple off the final delivery, the 16th he has faced. Meanwhile Ali Martin has emailed from Dambulla! He actually emailed a while ago, but my inbox monitoring has been sub-optimal.

Encouraging scenes here, with the sky blue and just a whisp of white cloud. The storms tend to build up later in the day but the morning start should give us a better chance of a result today. There is a reserve day in place (one which would see the match resume where it left off, rather than a fresh start) but my understanding is that if we get 20 overs in the second innings today, DLS kicks in and they won’t come back. Had two relatively dry days since Wednesday’s soggy affair - yesterday saw thunder and lightning but, curiously, no actual precipitation - and if there is anything I have learned in my week here (beyond keeping the balcony door shut to stop monkeys raiding the room) it’s that the weather forecasts mean very little in these parts...

5.39am BST

5th over: England 28-1 (Bairstow 1, Root 23) Root leans back and steers the ball past point, impeccable timing as it whistles to the boundary. The next ball is flicked to long leg, where Pradeep, clearly not keen on diving on hard ground, makes a half-hearted attempt to stop it with a foot and fails. Next ball disappears through the covers for another boundary, a delicious stroke, and there might have been yet another had Root’s drive from the final ball of the over not hit the wicket at the bowler’s end.

5.34am BST

4th over: England 16-1 (Bairstow 1, Root 11) Pradeep turns and appeals loudly as the ball hits Root’s front leg, but it was heading way down leg side and the umpire is rightly unimpressed. Then Root hits through cover, and the ball goes just fast enough to beat the fielder to the rope. The outfield seems pretty quick, given the amount of rain that has fallen on it recently.

5.28am BST

3rd over: England 8-1 (Bairstow 1, Root 5) Runs off the bat! Root pushes the ball straight down the ground for a single. And then a boundary! Root flicks the ball off his pads and past square leg for four. Meanwhile, replays suggest the ball that did for Roy didn’t really do anything off the pitch, and wasn’t notably slower than those that came before. Roy just muffed his timing.

Malinga's wicket-ball to Roy was roughly the same length as the previous ball, but his pace dropped from 135kph to 131kph. Roy was through his shot early and that drew the false shot. #SLvEng pic.twitter.com/5Di349scIf

5.24am BST

2nd over: England 1-1 (Bairstow 0, Root 0) Pradeep starts at the other end, and predictions of wild early scoring, unlike the bowling, appear a little wide of the mark. Though obviously as I type that Pradeep sends what might have been his final delivery down the leg side. Still.

5.20am BST

1st over: England 0-1 (Bairstow 0, Root 0) Malinga gets the game started with a wicket maiden, an impeccable opening.

Recent history would suggest that we should see plenty of runs in the first ten overs of both innings in this match. Of players to have scored 500 or more runs since the World Cup, four of the six fastest PP1 scorers are playing in this match. #SLvEng pic.twitter.com/IuBqHlwc1o

5.18am BST

The ball slows off the pitch, Roy mistimes his shot and the ball loops gently to midwicket!

5.15am BST

The players are out, and the sun is still shining! Let’s watch some cricket!

4.58am BST

Here’s photographic evidence of the toss-time sunshine.

4.56am BST

This is Morgan’s 50th lost toss as England ODI captain. He has won 38 tosses. Since the start of 2017 he has lost 28 tosses and won just 11. This cannot be coincidence: the chap is cursed.

4.51am BST

The skies are completely clear, so play will surely get under way as scheduled in 40 minutes. Here’s confirmation of the England team:

Sri Lanka have won the toss and chosen to bowl.

Follow: https://t.co/0YoF7jgNz8 #SLvENG pic.twitter.com/24yvk8erNW

4.49am BST

So far a perfect re-run of Wednesday: both teams are unchanged; Sri Lanka win the toss, decide to have a bowl and Eoin Morgan admits he’d have done the same.

4.49am BST

The toss has happened, and Sri Lanka won it. Dinesh Chandimal says:

We’ll have a bowl first. Looks like a really good wicket so better to get early wickets and put them under pressure. We’re going with the same XI.

We’d have done the same again. I think with this unpredictable weather both sides would want to bowl first. But it looks like a good wicket. We got off to a good start the other day and hopefully we can do the same again.

4.43pm BST

Hello world!

First things first: at the time of writing (about 12 hours before the start of play) the weather forecast suggests there is a 60% chance of rain between 10am local time, when play is supposed to get under way, and 4pm, gradually reducing to a mere 30% at 8pm. Across the day overall there is an 80% chance of rain. Scattered thunderstorms, they say. There is rain forecast in Dambulla every day over the next week. In short, scheduling cricket during monsoon season in Sri Lanka is a risky endeavour, a gamble that didn’t pay off on Wednesday when only 15 overs were possible in the first, abandoned ODI, and which is looking decidedly dodgy once again. The only good thing about the anticipated weather in Dambulla today is that the forecast for Kandy, venue of the third game in the series, on Wednesday, date of the third game in the series, is considerably worse. On paper this is an intriguing encounter with plenty of talking points for England; in reality it may be a soggy encounter with plenty of tea consumed.

The skies are blue in Dambulla ahead of the second ODI.

it stays that way!#SLvsENG @bbccricket pic.twitter.com/yskfKnReiH

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Published on October 13, 2018 01:35

October 10, 2018

Sri Lanka v England: first ODI abandoned – as it happened

England reached 92 for two from 15 overs before heavy rain forced the match to be abandoned in Dambulla

4.42pm BST

Our

weather
match report has landed, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company, see you on Saturday.

4.00pm BST

I’m down for the second ODI on Saturday with Simon Burnton. One of us will have to start work at 4.30am, probably with nothing to do other than watch the rain fall. Good thing I made that urgent dental appointment for 6am on Saturday morning.

3.54pm BST

The teams will stay in Dambulla for the second washout of the series on Saturday. There is at least a reserve day for that match, although at this rate we may need a reserve month.

3.52pm BST

Parts of the outfield were unsafe, so the match has been called off despite the noble work of the groundstaff.

3.50pm BST

Who’d be a groundstaffer?

3.38pm BST

“If a player scores no runs, takes no wickets and shells all catches that come their way they’ll be dropped,” says Dave Brown. “Strangely, if a cricket administrator arranges fixtures during Sri Lanka’s rainy season I guess they’ll still keep their job.”

Maybe it’s a subtle protest against cricket saturation.

3.35pm BST

There is a substantial patch of outfield - roughly deep backward point when looking from the grandstand - that has been the subject of much debate out in the middle. Trevor Bayliss, Paul Farbrace and three Sri Lankans were all stood out there chatting away. Appears that’s the section which remains a bit of a quagmire, despite the efforts of the groundstaff (who, for my money, should be splitting the oversized cheque for man of the match whatever happens). And as I type this, both Eoin Morgan and England vice-captain Jos Buttler are heading over there to have a look at it.

3.29pm BST

The words on the grapevine are:

3.25pm BST

In other news, China got off to a solid start in the World T20 qualifier against Nepal, reaching 21 for one after 6.1 oh.

3.22pm BST

And here’s Andrew Milligan on all things DLS

“According to an FAQ on DLS (the professional version is a piece of software):

3.08pm BST

Greetings Rob and chums. News from the ground is that there will be an inspection at 8.15pm local time following an incredible operation by the army of groundstaff in removing the all-covering tarps. There were lakes earlier and much of this water has been shifted to well beyond the ropes. But is the ground playable? Those who have been out in the middle say it remains very soggy under foot. So touch and go still, annoyingly, despite the encouraging images being beamed back. Gah.

3.03pm BST

Or perhaps not

Covers are off in Dambulla but the ground is seriously wet and we might not see any more action

2.58pm BST

If there is more play - and that looks likely now - England will resume on 92 for two from 15 overs. They will have five more overs to bat, after which their 20-over score will be DLS adjusted to find Sri Lanka’s target.

2.45pm BST

“Good afternoon,” says John Starbuck. “A question I posed earlier: is there an app for Duckworth-Lewis-Stern calculating used by scorers, or does someone have to work it out each time from scratch? Can OBO writers do it?”

I can work it out for you. All I need are your bank details. Er, yeah, it looks like there’s one on iTunes, though it doesn’t appear to be official.

2.41pm BST

There will be a pitch inspection at 3.30pm BST (8pm local time).

2.38pm BST

Hello everyone. Things looked well apocalyptic a few hours ago, yet we still might get some more cricket. The groundstaff - does anybody ever think of the groundstaff - are currently wading through puddles in an attempt to get the pitch ready for a 20-over slog. Bless them.

2.32pm BST

Blue beginning to become green, but not sure the ball will cope well if it lands in that puddle beyond the boundary...

https://t.co/jrasHcW6Pz
@BBCSport App

#BBCCricket #SLvENG pic.twitter.com/bxKV2fYtGh

2.29pm BST

Right, that’s my slightly damp stint over for the day. The estimable Rob Smyth will be on hand to guide you through the clean up and thrash.

2.13pm BST

And, as if commanded by the OBO gods, the rain seems to have ceased and the Dambulla groundstaff are working on the covers. The suggestion is it may take up to 90 minutes to get the surface playable, so we could be looking at something pretty close to a 20-20 if – and it’s a big if – the rain now stays away.

2.09pm BST

So we’re coming up to two hours of lost play, with at least another hour needed for the clean up. I make that at least 46 overs lost, which would mean 27 overs a side (or thereabouts) if it stopped raining now. Right now.

1.42pm BST

The rain has got a little heavier again so hopes are beginning to fade a touch in Dambulla. There’s plenty of time before the cut-off but it’ll take an hour before we get play again after the rain stops … and it hasn’t stopped yet.

1.13pm BST

An update but not much of an update: it’s still raining, the covers are still on and I’m going to warm up my pasta.

12.44pm BST

Gah! Live pictures show the rain still coming down pretty steadily, so here’s some reading while we wait for things to dry out:

12.33pm BST

There’s no rain in Dubai, where Australia are up against it against Pakistan …

Australia could conceivably have two 100-run opening stands, lose by 300 runs, with three debutants, getting rinsed by a debutant, in a game decried by many as boring. Even when Test cricket is bad, it’s still hilarious, and actually good.

12.25pm BST

The rain is apparently easing now in Dambulla, which is nice.

12.06pm BST

We’ve just seen some footage of the rain. The word “torrential” springs to mind.

12.01pm BST

There was an hour’s buffer built into today’s schedule but with the rain now heavy we’re looking at a reduced-overs game. How reduced, of course, remains to be seen …

11.57am BST

“After returning from our Sri Lankan honeymoon earlier this month (where we stopped by Dambulla and Kandy – and lovely it was too), lots of the locals were puzzled as to why these locations were selected for the series’, what with both areas in the midst / start of their respective ‘rainy seasons’,” writes Mark Lewis. “Any ideas? Or is this just to shoehorn in the 237 pre-Christmas-days-play…”

Have to admit, I’m none-the-wiser. There’s rain forecast every day for the next week at least.

11.44am BST

Here’s our man in Dambulla

Ian McCaskill

John Kettley

Michael Fish
Ali Martin:

Greetings John ... bit of a frustrating scene here at the ground. Curiously it’s only the lightest whisp of rain but looking into the distance it is properly filled in with the odd flash of lightning and you suspect it is about to properly rod it down. There is a giant golden statue of Buddha on a far away hillock that is starting to disappear. First time in Sri Lanka for me and so first time watching the army of groundstaff pull off their cover-the-entire-ground trick during play. Tarps, weighed down by car tyres, right up to and over the boundary ropes in a matter of minutes. Sensational.

11.41am BST

More good news: the covers are covering the entire field of play. More bad news: the rain is now coming down.

11.33am BST

The good news is that it’s not raining – the bad news is that that’s because it’s not actually started yet. We’re in precautionary mode. In the meantime, why not get Jos Buttler’s thoughts on the series in video format:

11.14am BST

Gah! The rain that has been looming ominously seems to have arrived, and the wind has picked up ferociously.

11.10am BST

15th over: England 92-2 (Morgan 14, Root 25) Dananjaya keeps Root honest by losing the bells and whistles and keeping things simple with some accurate, nagging off-breaks. Just two from the over.

11.08am BST

14th over: England 90-2 (Morgan 13, Root 24) The busy Dananjaya makes a fine diving stop on the leg-side boundary as Root flicks Malinga away once more, though this is a much better over from the veteran … until the last, which is a leggish short one that Root pulls effortlessly away for four.

11.03am BST

13th over: England 83-2 (Morgan 13, Root 18) Dananjaya continues and Root muscles him through the covers off the back foot for four. Fine shot. Morgan looks slightly less comfortable against the spinner and gets squared up by one, though just as I type that he slog-sweeps the last emphatically over square leg for six, so what do I know.

10.59am BST

12th over: England 70-2 (Morgan 6, Root 12) There’s a bit of cloud coming in and there’s a good chance of rain in the next hour or so. The forecast is fine after that, though the dry weather so far today has been the exception rather than the norm in Dambulla at the moment.

Root clips the returning Malinga away for four to backward square leg and from the last the bowler strays on to Morgan’s pads and gets tickled to fine leg for more more. Eleven from the over.

10.54am BST

11th over: England 59-2 (Morgan 1, Root 6) Dananjaya opens his selection box of deliveries again and Morgan gets off the mark with a drive down to long on for a single.

Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow the first England partnership (any wicket) past 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year with 1,009 from just 18 innings. Next best Nick Knight and Marcus Trescothick in 2002 with 794 from 24...

10.51am BST

10th over: England 55-2 (Morgan 0, Root 5) “Boom, boom, boom. Lemme hear you say wayoh! Wayoh!” Are cricket grounds the only place you’ll hear the Outhere Brothers in 2018? Probably. Hopefully. Sri Lanka have their collective tail up and Pradeep has his head in his hands after finding’s Root’s edge and seeing the ball fly through the vacant second slip area. Four of the flakiest for Root. There’s a huge appeal from the last as Root is cut in two by one that moves back in to the right-hander. There’s a noise as it flies through to the keeper but it’s off the thigh pad.

10.46am BST

9th over: England 51-2 (Morgan 0, Root 1) So 49-0 becomes 51-2. Dananjaya beats Morgan’s outside edge with a beauty from round the wicket.

10.43am BST

Oh, this is pretty horrible from Jason Roy. He has a big heave at the spinner and can only sky the ball straight to mid on.

10.42am BST

8th over: England 49-1 (Roy 23, Root 0) An important breakthrough for Sri Lanka then. There was a brief pause while the third umpire checked that the catch had carried through to Dickwalla but Bairstow has gone.

10.39am BST

Pradeep continues and we get the first moment of concern for England, bowler and keeper appealing vociferously as Roy misses a pull that zips over his shoulder. And from the last ball of the over Sri Lanka do have the breakthrough, Bairstow feathering a drive through to the keeper.

10.34am BST

7th over: England 48-0 (Roy 22, Bairstow 25) Time for spin! Akila Dananjaya comes into the attack. He’s nominally an off-spinner but tends to mix it up. Bairstow misses out on a full-toss from an attempted leg-break and it’s a tidy over until the final two balls, one of which Bairstow carts over the midwicket boundary for six, the other he lashes square on the off side for four.

10.29am BST

6th over: England 37-0 (Roy 21, Bairstow 15) Chandimal resists the urge to turn to spin and has Pradeep continuing. That’s music to Roy’s ears – he crunches a full delivery over mid on for four. A fuss-free seven from the over.

10.25am BST

5th over: England 30-0 (Roy 15, Bairstow 14) Yuck – Malinga drops horribly short again, so the ball sits up and screams “HIT ME!” Bairstow does just that and picks up four more through backward point.

“A dirty turner is either a wood lathe operator who doesn’t wash,” begins John Starbuck, “or the second male lead in Pirates of the Caribbean, who also doesn’t wash but then they all get dunked in the sea so often they probably don’t feel the need.” I’m going to assume that makes sense to somebody – the POTC films aren’t exactly my specialist subject.

10.21am BST

4th over: England 25-0 (Roy 14, Bairstow 10) This is already looking a touch ominous for Sri Lanka. Threat level: zero. And England’s opening pair look very much in the groove. Bairstow hits the cover fielder with a thumping drive but steers the next ball wide of the man and through for four. A couple of balls later he repeats the trick: four more!

10.18am BST

3rd over: England 17-0 (Roy 14, Bairstow 2) Roy does well to dig out a Malinga slow-yorker and celebrates next ball by heaving a short one to midwicket for four. And next up there’s another – Malinga aiming for another yorker and instead providing a leg-side full toss that Roy flicks, slightly awkwardly, away for four more.

10.11am BST

2nd over: England 7-0 (Roy 6, Bairstow 1) Pradeep, returning to the Sri Lanka ODI side for the first time since January, steams in from the other end. Bairstow is watchful, then gets off the mark with a slightly squirty push down to third man for a single. Roy gets up on his tippy toes to push through the covers for a couple more from the last.

“I hope this turns out to be a keenly contested match,” writes Don Mihsill. “Sri Lanka seem to be rotating the same set of ‘promising’ batsmen, neither giving them continuity (of opportunities) nor discarding them. Speaking of dirty turners, what all would qualify as one? A defence witness who has turned? A country road with a wide bend? A public official called Turner with a reputation for underhand dealings? Oh the possibilities.”

10.06am BST

1st over: England 4-0 (Roy 4, Bairstow 0) It’s 2007 all over again, as Lasith Malinga opens the bowling for Sri Lanka. He’s arrow-straight with his first few deliveries and Roy responds in kind. The fourth, though, drifts towards the leg side and Roy thunks confidently wide of mid on for four.

9.59am BST

Out come the players – play is imminent.

9.46am BST

Russell Arnold says the pitch is a good one and isn’t a “dirty turner”, which is a tremendous phrase that I’m going to bring into my regular rotation.

9.41am BST

Here’s Ali once more: “Another point of mild interest is that England will play in their T20 solar red to avoid a kit clash. As Henry Moeran of the BBC quipped, no word yet on what happens for the Test series ...”

On Sky Sports, Mike Atherton says Liam Plunkett isn’t in the squad because “he’s getting married for the first three games”. Crikey, how long are the speeches going to be?

9.38am BST

Sri Lanka: Tharanga, Dickwella, Chandimal, K Perera, De Silva, T Perera, Shanaka, Dananjaya, Pradeep, Sandakan, Malinga,

England: Roy Bairstow, Root, Morgan, Stokes, Buttler, Moeen, Woakes, Dawson, Rashid, Stone.

9.34am BST

Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal wins the toss – he decides to have a bowl first.

9.32am BST

Here’s our man in Dambulla, Ali Martin:

Morning John and chums, from Dambulla, where Olly Stone, the headline writers’ dream, is indeed making his England debut and Liam Dawson also plays. Mark Wood and the Currans miss out, plus Bangladesh-bound Alex Hales. Hot day here with fluffy white clouds and blue sky in patches. We saw a huge infestation of flying insects when England trained last night, but the floodlights on the nets were much lower than those in the ground so hopefully the little critters don’t affect the fielding side too much later on. In other wildlife news, I had a family of monkeys - Toque Macaques to be precise - on my balcony this morning. I’m no expert but from the body language, they too seemed baffled by Sri Lanka’s omission of Angelo Mathews....

9.21am BST

We’re still awaiting the toss and teams but Olly Stone is expected to make his England debut:

8.53am BST

It’s four weeks and one day since the final day’s play of the final Test of the English cricketing summer. It’s barely a fortnight since the counties called it a day for the season. If you’re anything like me you’ll still be digesting the poignant farewells, still be ruminating on the beautiful paeans to another season been and gone, still be picturing the shadows lengthening across a yellowing square in the last of the low summer sun.

Well, SNAP OUT OF IT! This isn’t the 1920s, you know. You can’t spend three months on a paddle steamer going halfway round the world to play another three months’ worth of knockabout warmups against a series of village sides. This is MODERN SPORT. You finish playing, you take off your whites, you plunge your aching body into some sort of cryogenic bath in an oxygen tent, you dry yourself off, you put on your ODI gear and YOU GET OUT THERE AND YOU PLAY SOME BLOODY CRICKET.

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Published on October 10, 2018 08:42

October 6, 2018

Manchester United 3-2 Newcastle United: Premier League – as it happened

Alexis Sanchez’s late winner completed a spectacular Manchester United comeback at Old Trafford - and probably saved Jose Mourinho’s job

8.31pm BST

So ... United performed a miracle and Mourinho lives to fight another day.

That is all from me, but mainly from Rob. Until we meet again.

8.26pm BST

Mourinho has been giving the media his favourite death stare.

Mourinho disagreed with the speculation that said he was struggling to motivate his players.

8.21pm BST

Pogba was moved to centre-back today, which is novel. I can’t see him staying there in the future but he got on with the job that was asked of him for a period of time, which was good to see as he looks to kick-on from an underwhelming start to the campaign.

8.13pm BST

Please say this is so ...

@ManUtd Enough. I’ve walked out of my only game in 7 of being a Stretford End Season Ticket holder, well before half time. This runs deeper than the manager. #Hearbreaking pic.twitter.com/50Yo0quazc

8.09pm BST

I wasn’t expecting this stat:

Today's win means that Jose Mourinho now has the best win% of any @ManUtd Manager.

Jose Mourinho 60.3%
Sir Alex Ferguson 60.1%
Ernest Mangnall 54.1% pic.twitter.com/LxorvE38MA

8.07pm BST

Has today’s result just delayed the inevitable? They could have been four goals down by the break, which would have ended it all.

Can United build on this going into a tough run of fixtures? Juventus, Chelsea and Manchester City will fancy their chances against this pitiful United defence.

8.06pm BST

Mata and Fellaini were the players put up for interview.

Mata: “We scored three, we created chances to score more. We are exhausted now but we got a very important win.

7.59pm BST

Jose is not having fun in the press conference ...

José Mourinho facing the media now. For a man who has just won he looks furious. Clipped answers to journalists. He said: "You all know everything so make some calls." #mufc #nufc

7.58pm BST

Jenas sounds pretty upset that his former club, Newcastle, were unable to hold on for, at least, a point. On the upside, they really showed what they can do when they attack which is something they will certainly need to build on after the international break.

7.56pm BST

This was Mourinho a few minutes ago ...

"This is not about me or the players...this is about the club."

"I am 55 years old and this is the first man hunt I have seen in football."

"If it rains in London it is my fault. A bad Brexit deal is my fault."

A FASCINATING Jose Mourinho interview with @DesKellyBTS... pic.twitter.com/bkJj8Yddod

7.56pm BST

A little bit of Benitez: “I think that it was a great game, we did really well first half, even second half. We had chances to score the third goal. It’s a pity to concede the way we did so close to the end.

“I told the players they did a great job.”

7.52pm BST

Mourinho says McTominay was scared on the pitch, which is a bit of a worry. He seems to have been an unfortunate pawn in the manager’s nonsensical mind games but today the Scottish midfielder really did not look capable at this level.

Will Mourinho need to leave him out for a few weeks now?

7.50pm BST

A good day for a few United players who have a poor season at Old Trafford. Juan Mata came off the bench to curl in a wonderful free-kick, Anthony Martial has struggled to get a run in the team but showed what he could do in a brief exchange Paul Pogba before smashing in the equaliser and then Alexis Sanchez, who has struggled to even get on the bench, headed home a dramatic winner and celebrated like a man who had a lot of frustration inside.

7.48pm BST

I’m going to hand over to Will Unwin for some more reaction. Thanks for your company and emails - goodnight!

7.48pm BST

Rob has done a valiant job, showing far greater stamina than the Newcastle midfield with his typing.

I’ll be here as we all try to catch out breath.

7.46pm BST

Spare a thought for Paul Wilson, who had to file his match report before the game had even finished.

7.42pm BST

This is some post-match interview from Jose Mourinho

Where do you start with this?

7.36pm BST

I have no idea what formation United were playing in the second half. There were times when Pogba looked like he was playing sweeper, at other times it seemed like a back four with Matic and Smalling.

7.35pm BST

“If the players hate Mourinho,” says Abhu, “they must be the daftest 11 men on the planet to have played like that in the second half. GGMU, we’re winning the Treble now.”

7.34pm BST

You have to feel for Newcastle, who contributed so much to an absurdly open game. They had some great chances when 2-0 up, and were also denied a clear penalty. So were Manchester United just after, mind you.

7.28pm BST

If Jose Mourinho does survive, and he surely will after that comeback, this is his team’s last chance to draw a line in the sand and leave the past behind. I doubt it will change much in the next month or two - they have some grim fixtures coming up - but it least gives them the opportunity to identify that second half as a Mark Robins moment. The passion from the team and Mourinho in the second half were the opposite of everything we’ve seen in the past few weeks. It was great fun.

7.23pm BST

Peep peep! Manchester United have come from 2-0 down to win a unique game of football. And while they surely can’t play with such tactical anarchy at the start of games, it was indeed attack attack attack that earned them victory in a desperate, exhilarating second half.

7.19pm BST

90+3 min There will be five minutes of added time.

7.19pm BST

90+2 min Whatever happens from here, this has been the most exhilarating comeback from Manchester United. It was born of the deepest desperation, sure, but they have played with pride, purpose and most of all speed.

7.18pm BST

What a crazy game. Pogba held the ball up nicely and laid it off to Young. He curled a cross to the far post, where Sanchez got inbetween defenders to plant an excellent downward header past Dubravka.

7.17pm BST

Alexis Sanchez has won it for Manchester United!

7.17pm BST

89 min Mata crosses deep towards Fellaini, and Dubravka comes out decisively to punch clear.

7.15pm BST

88 min Newcastle bring on Joselu for Ayoze Perez, who had a fine game and made the first goal.

7.15pm BST

87 min Mata, who has been quietly inspirational in this half, starts a flowing move that ends when Young’s dangerous low cross is crucially blocked on the six-yard by Yedlin. He has been immense.

7.12pm BST

85 min “Cunning of Rafa to engineer an almost win as a statement to the owners,” says Ian Copestake.

7.11pm BST

84 min Newcastle should still get a chance to win this, such is United’s tactical anarchy. Perez leads a four-v-four break and wins a corner - from which the hapless Matic mistimes a header just wide of his own goal. De Gea had it covered but, even so, Matic has had a stinker.

7.09pm BST

82 min This is great entertainment. I’ve no idea what it means in the grand scheme but it’s raucous, gloves-off football. Probably not for the tactics purist, though.

7.08pm BST

81 min “Hi Rob,” says David Hopkins. “I’d agree that getting upset about using ‘Utd’ is a bit odd - I’d suggest if ‘teams called Utd’ was a Pointless question ‘Manchester’ would be the to answer. Still my team’s been officially renamed Frank Lampard’s Derby County so things can change.”

7.07pm BST

80 min United break dangerously from a Newcastle corner, but Yedlin does very well to delay Martial long enough for other defenders to get back.

7.07pm BST

79 min In an unlikely development, Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba might just have saved Jose Mourinho’s job. I still think they’ll need a winner but nobody really knows anything.

7.05pm BST

78 min A Newcastle change: Christian Atsu replaces Muto.

7.05pm BST

78 min Diame’s header is cleared off the line by Lukaku! This is an entirely ridiculous football match. Diame should have scored with a clear header from a corner, but he mistimed it completely and it hit Fellaini before bouncing towards goal. Lukaku, who was on the near post, hooked it off the line.

7.04pm BST

This is brilliant stuff. Martial plays a one-two with Pogba, dances infield and slams a shot past Dubravka at the near post. Pogba’s return flick was beautiful and Martial’s finish emphatic.

7.03pm BST

It’s 2-2 and Old Trafford is going ballistic!

7.02pm BST

75 min: Dubravka makes two fine saves! The first was from a stinging half-volley by Fellaini, the second when Smalling was left totally unmarked at the ensuing corner. This is desperate, exhilarating stuff now. United have no option but to attack attack attack.

7.01pm BST

72 min I doubt even a draw would save Jose Mourinho, though a win might. United (M) are attacking with renewed hope and vigour. Their moodswings in this game have made Rob Smyth, 10 pints to the wind, seem like a paragon of equilibrium by comparison.

6.59pm BST

71 min After more abysmal defending from Matic, Ritchie’s clever close-range flick is saved crucially by De Gea.

6.58pm BST

71 min “As a United fan and journalist,” says Nick Parmenter, “did you believe the Post Fergie era would be THIS difficult?”

Probably not quite this bad. But it was obvious in the last few years of Fergie that the club, never mind the team, was en route to hell in a handcart.

6.57pm BST

Mata gets one back with a lovely free-kick, over the wall and into the bottom corner. Dubravka had no real chance with that.

6.57pm BST

69 min Diame is booked for a trip on Martial just outside the area.

6.55pm BST

68 min Newcastle make their first change, with Jacob Murphy replacing the injured Kenedy.

6.53pm BST

66 min After a good start to the second half, Manchester United have lost their way again. It’s time for their final change, with Alexis Sanchez replacing Marcus Rashford.

6.52pm BST

65 min “There are two Uniteds out there, so please not assume we know which one you mean,” says Pete. “Obviously the oldest in the league is Sheffield United but even my soap box isn’t that opinionated.”

I’ve never understood why people get so cakey about this. There isn’t a Newcastle City, so it’s pretty clear who I mean. It’s also an easy mistake to absent-mindedly make amid a manic MBM. Maybe I’m missing something though, and in that case I apologise and offer my resignation.

6.50pm BST

63 min Yedlin robs Martial and goes on a brilliant surge that ends with the most cynical of trips from Pogba. He’s booked.

6.48pm BST

60 min “This isn’t the worst I’ve seen United play - I’m old enough to remember the Denis Law back-heel in ‘74 - but it is pretty poor,” says Matt Emerson. “What you need at the club is a steadying hand on the tiller, someone who’s been there and seen it all whilst the club sorts itself out behind the scenes. How about Arsene Wenger...?”

Only 16 years too late. I agree that there have been less adequate United sides. They were much worse from 1988-90, but I’m not sure the collapse of morale was as bad. Back then they were honest, hardworking and just a bit crap.

6.46pm BST

59 min Another chance for Newcastle! Kenedy turns Smalling inside out on the edge of the area before battering a rising shot over the bar.

6.46pm BST

59 min Here’s Ian Copestake. “Rather than saying ‘puta’, I think Jose may have invented a new swearword out of ‘Muto’.”

6.45pm BST

58 min Ritchie is booked, more than a little harshly, for taking a free-kick too quickly. Anthony Taylor has had a poor game.

6.43pm BST

56 min There’s a rabid hunger about United now. Pogba crosses brilliantly towards Rashford, who flicks a header wide from six yards. That was an excellent chance. I think he mistimed his jump as the ball skimmed off the top of his head.

6.42pm BST

55 min Manchester United have had 85 per cent of the possession in this half. But the scoreline still flatters them.

6.41pm BST

54 min “In the highly unlikely event that my beautiful Anfield boys win the league this season then I will schadenfreude the hell out of you,” verbs Niall Mullen. “Until that happens I’m still staring up at a too-high-to-reach perch.”

Is George Graham still up there?

6.40pm BST

53 min Pogba is actually playing really well as an attacking centre-back. His defensive skills haven’t yet been tested but he has been influential in possession. Meanwhile, Mata’s volley deflects a few yards wide of the post. Newcastle get a goalkick.

6.39pm BST

52 min Ritchie shoots straight at De Gea from 20 yards.

6.38pm BST

51 min: What a miss from Matic! Pogba’s deflected long-range shot was brilliantly saved by the unsighted Dubravka, but he could only push it out to Matic six yards from goal. He leant back and sidefooted the ball into orbit.

6.37pm BST

50 min Mata’s cross from the right finds Rashford, who dummies Diame beautifully but is then crowded out by defenders. Newcastle look like they are happy to sat on their 2-0 lead.

6.36pm BST

50 min “I’m the biggest Mourinho apologist the world has ever seen,” says Shooby Taylor, “but even I have to admit there’s something beautifully poetic (and tragic) about Jose being ousted by his old nemesis Benitez.”

6.36pm BST

49 min Manchester United’s formation is entirely without precedent. A back three of Matic, Pogba and Smalling, with Mata and Fellaini as the central midfielders.

6.34pm BST

48 min Pogba sprays a long pass that is flicked on by Lukaku towards Martial, and the last man Yedlin makes an important sliding tackle.

6.34pm BST

47 min Paul Pogba is playing centre half.

6.33pm BST

47 min Paul Pogba is playing centre half.

6.33pm BST

46 min Peep peep! Manchester United begin the second half. Marouane Fellaini has replaced Scott McTominay and now it looks like Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic are playing in a back three with Chris Smalling.

6.26pm BST

I thought De Gea was unsighted on the second goal. In fact he just tried to save with his feet and missed it. Both goals were excellently taken. Newcastle have been brilliant, Shelvey and Perez in particular.

6.25pm BST

“Wow, now this is a corker,” says Bill Hargreaves. “Set up for fireworks. Game of two ‘alves, an’ all that. Completely agree re Howe but suspect he’d be a gamble too far for the purse strings. Poch will be bought, name yer price, I’d guess. Also agree re sympathy for Mou, too. No man is an island, and all that. ‘E was ever so nice to ‘is muvva’, as they said of the old East End gangsters.”

6.24pm BST

Half-time schadenfreude

“Someone once said that Manchester United is the biggest TV show in the world,” says Niall Mullen. “If so what phase are we at now? Niles marrying Daphne? Armand Tamzarian? The Fonz on water skis?”

6.18pm BST

Manchester United are unsurprisingly booed off. They are 2-0 down at home to Newcastle, and the scoreline flatters them. Jose Mourinho is surely about to give his last half-time team talk as Manchester United manager. He sucks on lemon and mouths ‘puta’ among other things as he runs down the touchline.

6.17pm BST

45+1 min Young’s corner is controlled beautifully by Muto - with his right bicep. That should have been a penalty as well. Instead, Muto broke and was fouled by McTominay, who was booked.

6.15pm BST

45 min Mourinho is going to get sacked so he might as well embrace the meltdown. Put Luke Shaw in goal; come out for the second half with two fags dangling rakishly from his bottom lip; just do what you need to do.

6.14pm BST

44 min Smalling gives the ball straight to Perez, who moves into the area, hits an airshot and falls over.

6.12pm BST

42 min “Evening Rob,” says Jon Collin. “Never mind Arsène Wenger, Rafa must be laughing his tezzers off – have there been any lingering close ups on his face to confirm this?”

When Rafa laughs, he does so internally.

6.12pm BST

41 min Diame marches right through the middle of the defence and stabs a shot too close to De Gea. Manchester United have totally gone. In terms of a collective collapse in morale this is as bad as I can remember at United, and I lived through 1989.

6.10pm BST

40 min What a strange incident. Shelvey’s free-kick hits the outstretched arm of Young, just inside the area, and deflects behind. It should have been a penalty to Newcastle; the referee gave a goalkick to Manchester United.

6.09pm BST

38 min Newcastle work a nice training ground free-kick, with Shelvey slipping the ball back to Ritchie near the penalty area. He is about to shoot when he slips and slices it out for a throw-in. Manchester United are fifty shades of shambles. Mourinho should just walk out of Old Trafford at half-time, coat swung over his shoulder, and pop into Wetherspoons for a bit. They must have a two-for-one on.

6.07pm BST

38 min McTominay is robbed on the edge of the area by Perez, who is then fouled by Young. Poor Ashley Young. He’s a good pro but he’s having an absolute stinker today.

6.06pm BST

36 min The unmarked Lascelles misses another Newcastle chance, heading over from 10 yards. Manchester United’s defending has been abysmal.

6.04pm BST

34 min: De Gea makes a great save! The chance came from more dodgy defending after a long free-kick was driven into the United box. Smalling’s header away was poor and went straight to Lascelles, who nodded it back towards the six-yard area. Muto was unmarked and headed to the left of De Gea, who showed his supernatural reactions to fly to his left and block it.

6.03pm BST

33 min Pogba gets away without a yellow card after kicking the ball away.

6.01pm BST

31 min Mata wins a corner down the left for United. It’s tossd in towards Smalling, whose looping header is claimed one-handed, Pat Jennings-style, by Dubravka.

6.00pm BST

27 min “Until United sort out the backroom side of things they will need to carry on hiring galactico managers with experience of managing £100m+ players,” says Leo Carroll. “Someone like Eddie Howe (or even Poch) would get eaten alive Moyes-style right now. City identified Pep years ago and spent the three years before he came buying players for him. Until United have that in place they are stuck being a Jonathan Woodgate/Michael Owen era Real Madrid.”

I don’t agree that Howe or Pochettino would be eaten alive but I do agree the club needs an urgent change of identity. They’re not a team so much as a collection of marketable commodities.

5.54pm BST

24 min Manchester United have improved since the substitution, with Rashford now playing just behind Lukaku. Pogba beats two players and hits a shot that deflects behind for a corner.

5.53pm BST

23 min Here’s Charles Antaki. “As Oscar Wilde so nearly said, ‘One must have a heart of stone to read the demise of Jose Mourinho without laughing.’”

I wonder what Arsene Wenger makes of it, whether he’s laughing his head off or whether he feels for him.

5.52pm BST

22 min Rashford misses a great chance, heading Lukaku’s brilliant cross this far wide of the far post. He was stretching but even so, he should have scored.

5.52pm BST

21 min “All the way over in NZ and I swore I wouldn’t put myself through another game,” says Maxwell Lowe. “I love my club and get up to watch anyway. This is what I get. It’s embarrassing. Who knows what’s going on at the moment but if something doesn’t change this will only get worse. Mourinho will go before any player but the players should be ashamed of themselves for giving up so easily. Where’s the passion? It really is sad and yet I still watch.”

That’s half the problem. Yes, Maxwell, you are the real villain of this story.

5.50pm BST

20 min Perez’s low shot is comfortably saved by De Gea.

5.49pm BST

20 min Mata is going to replace Eric Bailly, in fact, so Scott McTominay will move into defence.

5.48pm BST

18 min Shelvey’s wobbling long-range shot is slapped unconvincingly round the post by De Gea, who looks a bag of nerves at the moment.

5.47pm BST

17 min Juan Mata is getting ready to come on. I don’t think anyone is injured. This might be Jose Mourinho offering a stiff V sign to Paul Pogba on his way out the door. Or he might have gone full wibble and be about to take off David de Gea.

5.44pm BST

15 min Muto breaks into space down the left, only to be dubiously penalised for a foul on Bailly. That might have been 3-0.

5.44pm BST

14 min Newcastle have been brilliant. They sensed the mood - although, to be fair, they’d have to be pretty thick not to sense the mood - and acted accordingly. They have been full of menace on the counter-attack.

5.43pm BST

12 min “Please tell me your referring to Mourinho as ‘poor bloke’ was sarcastic,” There are a lot of people in the world deserving of sympathy but I would put him near the very bottom of that list.”

Not at all. I have a lot of sympathy for him, even though he’s done some daft things at times.

5.40pm BST

Manchester United have collapsed. A long cross was dumped into the area towards Muto, who was given far too much time to control the ball, wriggle away from Ashley Young and drill a low left-footed shot that went straight through the unsighted De Gea.

5.39pm BST

Oh my word!

5.38pm BST

It was far too easy for Kenedy, though he took it excellently. Matic’s negligence allowed a throw-in to run through to Ayoze Perez, who slid a pass down the inside-right channel to put Kenedy one v one with Ashley Young. He came back infield, onto his left foot, and placed an emphatic curling shot into the far corner.

5.37pm BST

It’s been a pretty untidy start from Manchester United - and now they are behind!

5.35pm BST

6 min “Say what you like about the rights and wrongs of the situation (and there’s plenty of wrong on all sides),” begins Nick Smith, “but Mourinho set the tone by not moving to Manchester.”

5.35pm BST

5 min Lukaku is lucky not to be booked for a foul on the breaking Ayoze Perez.

5.33pm BST

4 min Nothing much to report so far. Newcastle look like they have come to play, which isn’t always the case with Rafa Benitez’s teams.

5.31pm BST

2 min “I agree with that shortlist, but I think the best option is Simeone,” says Matt Dony. “For that reason, I sincerely hope they don’t get him! Howe would potentially be an excellent appointment, but would likely need the most time to bed in; the other two are more used to ‘big’ clubs and dealing with ridiculous egos. Poch would strengthen United, but his loss would weaken Spurs, so it averages out in the league. Simeone is amazing, with the strength to play his own game no matter what, and would probably put the fear of god into Pogba (and everyone else. He’s a terrifying presence). He creates a rock-solid defensive base, like Jose of old, but has the knack of also integrating some actual, yknow, attacking intent.”

Simeone would be hilarious. Imagine his provocative touchline stylings, and the sanctimonious reaction thereto.

5.30pm BST

1 min Peep peep! Newcastle, in their blue third kit, get things under way. Manchester are in red.

5.28pm BST

There’s a decent reception for Jose Mourinho, who tries to look impassive as he walks down the touchline chewing some gum. Poor bloke. His head must be in bits right now.

5.26pm BST

Newcastle’s record at Old Trafford is abysmal, though they did win here in the David Moyes Year. That’s their only victory on this ground since 1972.

5.19pm BST

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere’s Rafa

“We have to be solid, try to stay in the game and try to get something. If we do the same thing we did last year, we’ll have some chances. It’s a long season so we have to carry on. Last year we were in the bottom five in January and we finished tenth.”

5.09pm BST

“Hi Rob,” says David Wall. “Completely agree about Eddie Howe, but just as important is that the club properly support him. And by that I don’t mean chucking money around but rather just allowing him time and accepting that might involve a few seasons without great success while he builds a structure that will last, like he’s done at Bournemouth. He’s young enough to become a generational manager for United and though that isn’t the way things are done now, surely if any club can put a stake in the ground and say that that is the way they are going to do things znd to hell with what is done elsewhere. And they’re rubbish at appointing big name managers anyway, without the experience of someone like Chelsea or Real Madrid who can do it successfully.”

Yep, I agree. I would have a shortlist of three: Howe, Pochettino and Simeone. All have built teams with a distinct identity and overachieved massively. You’ll never get a generational manager but any of those could feasibly stay for a decade.

5.07pm BST

Jose Mourinho’s pre-match interview

“[Is this a must-win game?] Every game is a must-win game. That’s how I feel and that’s how I like my players to feel. It’s about the team, it’s not about [individual selections]. We didn’t have a phenomenal performance against Valencia but it was positive and to make lots of changes would not be the right thing. In this moment Ashley Young can give us a bit more speed and energy on the right side.”

4.34pm BST

When Mourinho goes, Eddie Howe should be on the shortlist to replace him.

4.34pm BST

Ashley Young replaces the Manchester United captain Antonio Valencia, who is not in the squad.

Man Utd (4-3-3) De Gea; Young, Bailly, Smalling, Shaw; McTominay, Matic, Pogba; Rashford, Lukaku, Martial.
Substitutes: Romero, Lindelof, Mata, Pereira, Fred, Fellaini, Alexis.

4.21pm BST

He’s still in charge, then. It comes to something when Mike Ashley’s Newcastle United look like the model club in any given fixture, but that’s the case today. There’s not much new to say about the shambles at Manchester United, except that Gary Neville’s compelling vituperation last night may make more people realise that there are bigger villains in this story than Jose Mourinho.

It seems Mourinho won’t be sacked this weekend, whatever happens in this game, but it’s unlikely to be long before somebody prints a P45 with his name on it. The nature of modern life makes it almost impossible for managers to come back from the brink as they once could. In this age of breaking news and exaggerated drama, the actual football is often treated like filler between bulletins, and this match feels like a backdrop to the Mourinho story rather than the other way round. Sad!

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Published on October 06, 2018 12:31

England 1-0 Brazil: women's international football friendly – as it happened

The brilliant Fran Kirby’s early header gave England a deserved victory over Brazil in an open match at Meadow Lane

3.04pm BST

2.43pm BST

Here’s Phil Neville “I’d give us 6/10, because we should have been 3-0 or 4-0 up at half-time. We needed to be more ruthless but some of our play was fantastic. We got Fran Kirby on the ball a lot in that pocket. But we should have scored more and that’s why we’re a bit frustrated.

“We wanted to be really aggressive in our pressing and we managed that. The young players that came on can do better. Fara Williams gave us a bit of composure. We’ve got some really good young players but they can make a bigger impact.

2.31pm BST

Post-match interviews

Fran Kirby “We created such good opportunities that we could have scored more but we had a really good defensive performance and held on. We’ve been working in training on moving the ball quickly and having little triangles, and it paid off today.”

2.26pm BST

Peep peep! England’s first ever match against Brazil ends in victory. They deserved it after a strong performance. They might have scored more but Fran Kirby’s early header was enough. She and the right winger Nikita Parris were outstanding.

2.25pm BST

90+3 min The lively substitute Kerolin swerves away from two England defenders to stab a shot that deflects off Bronze and dribbles safely into the hands of Telford.

2.24pm BST

90+3 min England are trying to pass the clock down. Brazil have one minute left.

2.22pm BST

90+1 min There will be four minutes of added time. Tamires hits a long range shot over the bar.

2.21pm BST

90 min That was a nice little demonstration of England’s new philosophy, with Christiansen and Staniforth passing their way out of trouble rather than lumping it anywhere. Moments later, Fara Williams is booked.

2.20pm BST

89 min England, so comfortable for so long, suddenly look very nervous.

2.19pm BST

88 min Out of nothing, Brazil put together a really good move. The ball is zipped around before finding its way to Kerolin, who shifts the ball to the side and hits a low shot that is excellently blocked by Greenwood.

2.17pm BST

85 min Brilliant save from Barbara! Greenwood curled a cross towards the near post, where Daly got in front of Daiane and stabbed a superb volley towards goal from 12 yards. It was going in the bottom corner until Barbara got down sharply to her right to push it away.

2.13pm BST

82 min Staniforth has been bright since coming on, with a few classy touches in midfield. England are holding to their lead pretty comfortably at this stage.

2.10pm BST

78 min If it stays like this it’ll be a good day’s work for England. They might be a bit disappointed at their failure to take those first-half chances, but a win over Brazil is a win over Brazil is a win over Brazil. The star was again Fran Kirby, who looks absolutely fundamental to what Phil Neville is trying to achieve with this team.

2.09pm BST

77 min Bronze’s cross is headed towards goal by Staniforth, just inside the area, and Barbara moves across her line to make a comfortable save.

2.08pm BST

77 min Another Brazil change. Andressinha on, Formiga off.

2.08pm BST

76 min Ludmila plays a lovely pass behind Bright to find Kerolin, whose attempted return pass is blocked at the near post.

2.07pm BST

75 min Another Brazil change, with the injured Monica replaced by Kathellen.

2.06pm BST

74 min A double change for England. The women of the match, Nikita Parris and Fran Kirby, are replaced by Mel Lawley and Lucy Staniforth.

2.04pm BST

72 min Daly plays a lovely give-and-go with Mead and bursts into the area from the right. As the ball sits up she slaps it towards goal, and Barbara makes a decent save at the second attempt. Daly couldn’t quite get the elevation she needed on the shot.

2.02pm BST

71 min Kirby, again receiving the ball between the lines, hits a good low shot that is comfortably saved by Barbara. Kirby really is a class act.

2.01pm BST

69 min It’s been a scruffy second half, which I suppose suits England given the scoreline. Phil Neville has made another substitution, with Fara Williams replacing the excellent Jordan Nobbs.

1.58pm BST

66 min Another change for Brazil: Camila is replaced by Tamires.

1.57pm BST

65 min Mead’s dangerous low cross is palmed away by the diving Barbara, with Parris waiting to score behind her.

1.52pm BST

61 min England’s first substitution: Beth Mead replaces Toni Duggan.

1.52pm BST

60 min Fine save from Telford! Greenwood played a dreadful backpass that went straight to Raquel on the edge of the area, and Telford flew from her line to block the shot.

1.48pm BST

57 min Brazil make their third substitution: the debutant Kerolin replaces Debinha.

1.48pm BST

56 min Kirby plays a disguised through pass to Daly, and Barbara flies from her line to make an important challenge. The ball goes out for a goalkick, though Daly was insistent it should have been a corner.

1.45pm BST

54 min Another good break from Kirby, who shows good awareness to find Duggan in the box. She takes a fraction too long to decide whether to pass or shoot and in the end Brazil clear.

1.45pm BST

53 min Kirby is taking up some brilliant positions between the lines. She surges towards the area again and finds Parris, who cross is cleared awkwardly at the far post. Kirby’s awareness and passing have been world-class today.

1.41pm BST

50 min Houghton’s free-kick from 30 yards is well struck but straight at Barbara.

1.39pm BST

47 min A sweeping move from England. The superb Kirby sprays a pass out to Duggan, who lobs it into the area for Nobbs. She cuts the ball back towards Daly, who is about to shoot when Monica makes a very strong tackle. Moments later, Christiansen hits a half-volley wide from 25 yards.

1.36pm BST

46 min Peep peep! England begin the second half.

1.21pm BST

Half-time reading

1.21pm BST

Peep peep! The Lionesses lead through Fran Kirby’s accomplished header in the second minute. It was made by Nikita Parris, who has been unplayable on the right wing. Brazil, who lost Marta to injury, have had their moments. But England created all of the clear chances and deserve to be ahead.

1.18pm BST

45 min Camila smashes the free-kick straight into the wall.

1.18pm BST

44 min Bronze is booked for flattening Thiasa 25 yards from goal.

1.17pm BST

43 min England move the ball nicely down the left. Then Kirby gets her head up and plays a terrific pass across the field to release Parris. She takes a touch and hits a shot that is brilliantly blocked by the sliding Camila. Credit where it’s due: Camila has had a shocking half but she probably saved a goal there.

1.13pm BST

41 min Bruna is unable to continue, so Brazi will make their second substitution. Daiane replaces her.

1.13pm BST

40 min In an unusual development, Parris storms away from Camila. This time she reaches the edge of the area before flashing a good effort that curls just wide of the far post. I think Barbara probably had it covered.

1.11pm BST

39 min “Was the Brazilian left-back spot given away in a raffle?” asks Patrick Green. “Parris is all over Camila today.”

She really is. There are few things in football as exciting as watching a winger give a full-back a rare old chasing.

1.10pm BST

38 min Bruna is in a lot of pain after landing awkwardly. She’s being helped from the field and I doubt she’ll be back.

1.09pm BST

37 min ... But Andressa Alves puts it straight into the hands of Telford.

1.08pm BST

36 min Nobbs nobbled Ludmila just outside the area. The free-kick is in a very good position for Brazil...

1.08pm BST

34 min A chip into the England box causes a bit of panic until the referee gives a very generous free-kick for a perceived foul on Telford.

1.07pm BST

33 min “Moving on from the ever-infuriating band, was anyone else surprised that we have never played Brazil before?” says Tor. “I can’t find any record of us playing them in the last 10 years, although I’m happy to be proven wrong. Does anyone know of any other major teams we’re yet to come up against?”

Yep, this is the first meeting between the teams, though Team GB beat Brazil in 2012. I think Steph Houghton scored the winner from memory.

1.05pm BST

32 min Kirby breaks down the left, stumbles past Bruna and cuts the ball back nicely for Daly, who slides a shot wide at the near post. Christiansen, arriving late behind her, probably had the better chance.

1.03pm BST

30 min Formiga’s looping, long-range header is comfortably held by Telford.

1.02pm BST

29 min Nikita Parris has been electric in the first half hour, the most dangerous player on the pitch by a mile.

1.01pm BST

27 min Lovely play from England. Nobbs turns smartly in midfield and curls a long pass out to Parris. She roasts Camila yet again and hits a shot that is blocked at the near post by Barbara. It comes back to Parris, who hits the rebound over the bar from close range. She should have scored. She could also have had a penalty but stayed on her feet when she was fouled by the hapless Camila.

12.58pm BST

26 min “The TV director has made the mistake of actually showing us the band,” says Charles Antaki. “Some demographics. Percentage composition of women, expressed in round numbers: 0. Discrepancy of gender balance with that in the attending public: high. Differential in age between tunes being played and average age of attending public: 100 years, and counting.”

Are you still talking about the band or have you moved on to the MBM audience?

12.58pm BST

25 min Parris’s flat cross is headed towards goal by Daly, and Barbara moves to her right to make a comfortable save.

12.57pm BST

25 min “I think this will erase the England Band from your mind,” says Hubert O’Hearn. “Ticks all the necessary boxes: metal, and of course Doctor Who’s advancement of women tomorrow.”

12.56pm BST

23 min Brazil work the ball neatly across the edge of the area for Debinha, whose first-time shot is crucially blocked by Bronze.

12.55pm BST

22 min The great Marta is leaving the field with an unspecified injury. Raquel replaces her.

12.54pm BST

21 min Camila has clearly had enough of getting the runaround from Parris, and boots her up in the air with an emphatic woman-and-ball challenge.

12.53pm BST

20 min Telford plays sweeper-keeper to intercept a through pass towards Ludmila. Her clearance goes to Formiga, who tries to score from the halfway line but doesn’t get enough on her shot.

12.51pm BST

19 min England should give the ball to Parris at every opportunity. She is making some excellent runs and clearly has the beating of Camila.

12.50pm BST

17 min “At England games it’s hard to get an atmosphere going, especially at Wembley,” says Patrick Green. “I normally sit right near the band and they do make a big difference. Yes they can be slightly irritating on telly but they improve the atmosphere greatly.”

Since when did match-going fans matter?

12.49pm BST

15 min Bronze plays a good pass inside Camila for Parris, who dinks a first-time cross towards the near post. It’s met again by the head of Kirby, but this time she has to stretch and can only flick it across the face of goal. Bruna puts it behind for a corner.

12.48pm BST

14 min Leticia raids forward from right-back. Duggan makes an excellent tackle from the side but diverts the ball to Debinha, who hits a speculative curling lob from 25 yards. Telford watches it go over her head and just wide of the near post. That was a cracking effort.

12.46pm BST

13 min Here’s Charles Antaki. “The only negative aspects so far are that a) the England band have turned up; b) they are playing; and c) they haven’t been thrown out on their ear yet. We live in hope.”

I think I’ve tuned them out. Or at least I had, for the past 10 years or so, UNTIL YOU BLOODY MENTIONED THEM AND NOW ALL I CAN HEAR IS THE GREAT ESCAPE EVEN WHEN I’M OSTENSIBLY LISTENING TO UNFETTERED THRASH METAL.

12.44pm BST

11 min Kirby has started brilliantly. She combines again down the left with Duggan and cuts the ball back to Daly, whose first-time shot flies past the near post.

12.42pm BST

9 min Kirby plays a one-two with Duggan, surges forward and then plays the ball infield to Christiansen. She lines up a shot from 25 yards but slips and slices it well wide.

12.41pm BST

8 min “Hi Rob,” says Hubert O’Hearn. “Like many people I have laughed at Phil ‘the Lesser’ Neville as a pundit and even his current appointment seemed without merit. Well, I owe him an apology. After reading about he handled the Steph Houghton situation, he is a thoroughly admirable man who is serving as an example to us all how to handle deeply personal problems within a team setting. No one will hear a word of criticism about Phil from me ever again.”

12.40pm BST

7 min England are pressing Brazil high up the pitch and have nicked possession on a few occasions. Pip Guardiola will be thrilled with their start, both with and without the ball.

12.38pm BST

6 min The dawdling Camila is robbed on the edge of her own area by Parris, who is harshly penalised by the referee. She is all over Camila at the moment.

12.37pm BST

4 min That was a fine goal. Parris went straight at Camila, beating her with ease, and it was an accomplished finish from Fran Kirby.

12.36pm BST

England take the lead with their first attack! Parris surged thrillingly past the left-back Camila and dinked a cross towards the near post, where Kirby arrived late to flick an excellent header off the underside of the bar and into the net.

12.34pm BST

2 min It’s been a strong start from Brazil, and Thiasa’s rasping long-range shot is blocked on the edge of the area.

12.33pm BST

1 min Peep peep! Brazil, in blue, get the match under way. England are in white.

12.27pm BST

The players emerge on a freezing day in Nottingham. Can Brazil do it on a cold, win- oh never mind.

12.26pm BST

“Morning Rob (just about!),” writes Tor. “Chuffed that Houghton is playing. I’m sure there will be lots of us mailing this in, but she’s a proper captain, a great example and to show up to play in the face of everything just gives us an insight into how determined and dedicated she is. Tipping England to go all the way next year, IF Neville really has got his ducks in a row tactically. Right, I’d best go crack a beer for this one.”

I have no idea how I’d cope with something like that. Where do you even start?

12.14pm BST

Pre-match reading

11.43am BST

England (4-2-3-1) Telford; Bronze, Houghton, Bright, Greenwood; Christiansen, Nobbs; Parris, Kirby, Duggan; Daly.
Substitutes: Earps, Chamberlain, Williams, George, Walsh, Staniforth, Mead, Lawley

Brazil (4-3-3) Barbara; Leticia, Bruna, Monica, Camila; Formiga, Thaisa, Marta; Ludmila, Debinha, Andressa Alves.
Substitutes: Aline, Poliana, Daiane, Tamires, Darlene, Rilany, Kathellen, Geyse, Andressinha, Kerolin, Raquel.

10.51am BST

Hello. The lead up to a major tournament is often the best bit, a happy stretch of hope and anticipation with not even a soupçon of harsh reality. At this stage, nobody has missed a penalty or scored an injury-time own goal. You can rationalise defeats in pre-tournament friendlies and get carried away with victories. And you can sincerely believe that this time, more than any other time, we’re gonna find a way.

England qualified comfortably for next summer’s tournament in France, and their attempt to finally reach a major final begins with two friendlies this week. They play the Copa América Femenina winners Brazil at Meadow Lane this afternoon, the first ever meeting between these sides, and on Tuesday they host Australia at Craven Cottage. Both are excellent opponents who will provide a fascinating test of Phil Neville’s avowed philosophy. Pip Guardiola wants England to keep the ball and impose their style on the game, no matter who they are playing against.

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Published on October 06, 2018 06:43

September 29, 2018

Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool: Premier League – as it happened

The substitute Daniel Sturridge’s breathtaking late goal cancelled out Eden Hazard’s opener in a high-class match at Stamford Bridge

7.50pm BST

Here’s Daniel Taylor’s report on that cracking match. Thanks for your company, bye!

7.25pm BST

There’s a lot of goodwill on the pitch, with the players on both sides instinctively realising they took part in a cracking match against a worthy adversary. It’s exemplified by Gianfranco Zola smiling broadly as he congratultes Daniel Sturridge. When the dust settles, both teams will be pretty happy I think.

7.22pm BST

Peep peep! A marvellous match ends with a result that is fair to both sides. Eden Hazard finished a lovely move in the first half; Daniel Sturridge reminded us of his sublime talent with a breathtaking late equaliser. It was a pleasure to watch - a fast, high-class game of football.

7.21pm BST

90+5 min And they might have won it! Hazard’s outswinging corner was headed over at the near post by Alonso. That looked a great chance. It was also the last touch of the match.

7.20pm BST

90+4 min Chelsea win a corner in the last minute of added time...

7.18pm BST

90+2 min The sheer nonchalance of that Sturridge goal was something else. It was as if swishing it into the far top corner - and it was right in the corner - was the most logical, straightforward thing in the world.

7.17pm BST

90+1 min Gomez is robbed in his own area by Morata, who turns the ball back to Moses. His shot is blocked crucially by Van Dijk.

7.16pm BST

90 min There will be four minutes of added time. Alonso’s cross is kicked behind for a corner by Van Dijk.

7.15pm BST

There was nothing on whatsoever when Sturridge received the ball 25 yards from goal, a fair way to the left of centre. He took a touch, looked up and swept a nonchalant curling shot that flew over Kepa and into the far top corner. That’s an outrageous goal!

7.14pm BST

Oh my goodness, what a goal!

7.14pm BST

88 min Liverpool’s last league defeat was, of course, on this ground in May. That finished 1-0.

7.12pm BST

87 min “Evening Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “When you mentioned very good teams finishing in only the minor places, for a moment there I thought you were talking about the Scottish Championship (weeps real tears into half pint whisky tumbler).”

7.12pm BST

86 min Liverpool’s last change. Daniel Sturridge comes on for James Milner.

7.10pm BST

85 min Firmino finds Keita, who blasts well wide from 25 yards.

7.10pm BST

84 min Shaqiri’s free-kick is straight at Kepa, who crouches to make a comfortable claim.

7.09pm BST

83 min David Luiz knocks Mane to the ground 25 yards from goal. He has had a great game but that was a poorly judged tackle. The free-kick is to the right of centre, which favours Shaqiri...

7.08pm BST

82 min Wijnaldum plays a blind backpass that is almost intercepted by Morata. Alisson has to come out of his area and boot it out for a throw-in.

7.06pm BST

80 min Chelsea make their final change, with Ross Barkley coming on for the classy Mateo Kovacic.

7.04pm BST

78 min Another Liverpool substitution: Naby Keita replaces Jordan Henderson.

7.03pm BST

78 min Hazard’s free-kick is headed wide by Morata, who was offside anyway.

7.03pm BST

76 min Milner is booked for a foul on Moses, who came on a moment ago for Willian.

7.02pm BST

75 min If it stays like this, Chelsea will join Manchester City on 19 points from seven games, with Liverpool one behind. A very good team is going to finish third this season. A bloody brilliant one will finish second.

7.00pm BST

74 min This has been such an enjoyable game. I’m not sure either team really deserves to lose.

6.59pm BST

72 min: David Luiz clears off the line! Alexander-Arnold’s cross bounced all the way through to Milner on the left side of the box. He eschewed the shot and dinked a lovely ball up to Firmino on the six-yard line. His downward header would have gone in but for the positioning and awareness of David Luiz, who kicked it clear from under his own crossbar.

6.57pm BST

70 min: What a miss from Shaqiri! Oh my. Robertson surged down the left and curled a brilliant low cross towards the penalty spot, where Shaqiri got away from the last man David Luiz only to slice a right-footed shot well wide of the far post.

6.55pm BST

69 min Hazard twists thrillingly away from three players on the left of the box only to apparently slip when about to shoot. There were no appeals for a penalty. Moments later, Kovacic’s placed curler is palmed away by the diving Alisson. That was a comfortable save.

6.52pm BST

66 min A Liverpool substitution: Xherdan Shaqiri replaces Mo Salah, who was lively but wasteful. He looks short on confidence.

6.50pm BST

65 min Alvaro Morata replaces Olivier Giroud for Chelsea.

6.50pm BST

64 min: Fine save from Alisson! Salah was penalised for a foul on David Luiz and, while everyone else stopped, Kante took a quick free-kick to put Hazard straight through on goal. Alisson flew to the edge of the area to block Hazard’s shot, with the ball spinning up and onto the roof of the net. That was another superb save.

6.48pm BST

62 min Liverpool have had 66 per cent of the possession in the second half, a reflection of the slightly dangerous game Chelsea are now playing. They’re defending very deep.

6.46pm BST

60 min Chelsea break from a Liveprool corner, and for a moment it seems Kante’s pass has put Willian through on goal. Van Dijk breezes through the gears to get back and concede the corner.

6.45pm BST

58 min: Excellent save from Arrizabalaga! Firmino fought to win a loose ball on the left of the area and pushed it back to Mane. He did well to manufacture just enough space for a low shot that was going in at the near post until Arrizabalaga changed direction and plunged to his right to push it behind. That’s a great stop.

6.43pm BST

58 min This is a better spell for Liverpool, who have started to dominate possession again.

6.40pm BST

54 min Liverpool’s poor start to the second half is exemplified by Wijnaldum’s pass towards Salah. Throw-in to Chelsea.

6.38pm BST

51 min Chelsea have been good at exploiting the space left by Liverpool’s full-backs when they go forward. I thought that might happen the other way round, with Liverpool getting behind Chelsea’s full-backs.

6.34pm BST

48 min Hazard’s low cross is only half cleared by Milner. Kovacic collects in the D, strides into the area and hits a shot that is crucially blocked by Van Dijk. Chelsea have made a flying start to the second half.

6.33pm BST

46 min Gomez makes a fine interception to stop Giroud’s pass releasing Hazard in the area.

6.31pm BST

46 min Peep peep! Liverpool get the second half under way. No changes on either side.

6.30pm BST

The more you see Hazard’s goal, the more you think Alisson might have done better. He was a bit slow to get down and he did get a touch on it. That said, it certainly wasn’t a howler. I’d only give it about 2.6 on the Karius scale.

6.24pm BST

“Does Giroud’s continued inclusion signify the latest tactical trend, that of a defensive centre-forward?” says Phil Podolsky. “Who needs an attacking threat when you have a big lad who can press etc. I know he’ll score now that I said this but it’s clearly not his main function.”

6.17pm BST

Half-time schadenfreude

6.17pm BST

6.16pm BST

A fine team goal, scored by Eden Hazard, has given Chelsea a slightly flattering half-time lead. Both sides have been several shades of excellent in a really enjoyable game. See you soon for the second half.

6.15pm BST

44 min Alexander-Arnold’s bouncing cross finds its way through to Mane, who controls it up in the air and hooks an acrobatic volley over the bar. He had Milner in all kinds of space to his left, though I don’t think he saw him.

6.14pm BST

44 min Van Dijk goes down holding his face after a challenge with Giroud. It was a stray arm but nothing deliberate.

6.11pm BST

40 min A chance for Liverpool. Salah plays a one-two with Wijnaldum but then overhits a fairly simple pass to Firmino, in loads of space on the left of the box.

6.09pm BST

39 min Mane is rightly booked for a foul on Hazard, which stopped a Chelsea counter-attack.

6.07pm BST

36 min Liverpool have responded strongly to going behind. It’s been a very good first-half performance from them, so I doubt they’ll be too worried just yet. It’s a fascinating game - intriguing in a genuine rather than euphemistic sense.

6.03pm BST

32 min: Rudiger clears off the line from Salah! This is turning into a great match. Salah showed great strength to receive Firmino’s cushioned through pass and wriggle away from Alonso on the edge of the area. He went round Arrizabalaga and, though that took him a bit wide, he was still able to drag the ball towards the near post with his right foot. Rudiger got back to boot it off the line and prompt lusty cheers from the home crowd.

6.02pm BST

31 min Hazard fouls Milner down the Liverpool right. Milner’s free-kick is headed over his own bar by Azpilicueta. Chelsea are given a goalkick, and the fourth official is given a mouthful by Jurgen Klopp.

5.58pm BST

28 min The goal is a bit harsh on Liveprool, though Chelsea were starting to look more dangerous on the break.

5.57pm BST

It’s a really good goal from Chelsea. It started with some quick, brave passing in a phonebox-sized space in the centre circle from Hazard, Kovacic and Jorginho. Then Kovacic opened things up with a lovely angled ball to put Hazard through in an inside-left position. He moved into the area before cutting an excellent left-footed shot back across Alisson and into the net. Alisson, whose weight was going the other way, changed direction and got a finger on the ball but he couldn’t keep it out.

5.55pm BST

Eden Hazard does it to Liverpool again!

5.53pm BST

22 min: Good save from Alisson! David Luiz swishes a fantastic pass over the defence to put Willian through on goal. He takes the bakll down nicely on the run, but by the time he’s in a position to shoot Alisson is almost on top of him and makes an excellent save. He flew from his line, almost to the edge of the area, and spread himself to block the shot with his chest.

5.49pm BST

21 min “PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT,” says Matt Dony. “If anyone in the SW6 area finds a bag labelled ‘Shooting Boots’, could they please deliver it to the Liverpool changing room ready for half time...”

It’s days like these when you realise how good Sean Dundee really was.

5.49pm BST

20 min This is a bit ominous for Chelsea, who have been outplayed in the first 20 minutes.

5.48pm BST

18 min Milner cracks a good pass into Salah, who helps it on to Firmino in the area. His shot is blocked by David Luiz and Alonso puts the rebound behind for a corner.

5.45pm BST

16 min Virgil van Dijk is a sensational footballer. I think he’s the most important player in the Premier League.

5.45pm BST

15 min More good play from Liverpool. Van Dijk nicks the ball off Giroud and finds Firmino, who moves it square to Mane. He splatters a shot well wide from 20 yards.

5.42pm BST

13 min A year ago tomorrow, Manchester City made a statement of title-winning intent with a dominant 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool would love to do the same, and they’ve started excellently.

5.41pm BST

11 min Liverpool are playing like the home team and there’s another half chance for Salah. Alexander-Arnold fizzed a sharp pass infield from the right to find him. He held off Jorginho and moved away from Rudiger before curling high and wide from the edge of the area.

5.38pm BST

8 min After a fine move from Chelsea, Giroud tries to put Hazard through on goal with a delicate flick. It ricochets off a couple of bodies before Gomez stretches to clear.

5.36pm BST

7 min It’s been a confident start from Liverpool, who are having a lot of possession.

5.36pm BST

5 min At the other end, Alisson slides right to the edge of his area to beat Willian to Hazard’s through pass. Chelsea’s fans appealed for a free-kick, thinking he may have handled it outside the area, but I think he was fine.

5.35pm BST

5 min A high press from Liverpool brings a half chance for Mo Salah. He picked up a loose ball, moved to the edge of the area and, with defenders converging, hit a tame curler straight at Kepa.

5.32pm BST

3 min It’s been a very fast start, with both sides zipping first-time passes around the field. I can’t see either team taking a backward step.

5.30pm BST

1 min Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeep peeeeeeeeeeeeep! Chelsea, in blue, get the match under way in a cracking atmosphere at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool are in red.

5.27pm BST

The players are in the tunnel. Eden Hazard and Mo Salah are having a nice friendly chat. Most of the other players are wearing their gameface. It’s on!

5.10pm BST

Transitory optimism

“After an entertaining day so far (particularly the Fantasy points for Zabaleta and Arnautovic, thankyouverymuch), I’m looking forward to this match,” says Matt Dony. “Liverpool basically lost on Wednesday because of Hazard, but had Robertson been playing, I don’t think he would have got through for the second goal (what we call The Moreno Handicap). The drive for revenge, and a bit more control at the back, and I fancy Liverpool to take the points. Or, at least, I do now. With half an hour to go. Once kick off has happened, I’m sure I’ll regress to my usual moribund fatalism. Got to love football.”

5.09pm BST

Pre-match interviews

Maurizio Sarri “Unfortunately this will be a different match with different players [to the Carabao Cup match], and it will be very difficult for us. It’s difficult for anyone to defend against Firmino, Mane and Salah, but it will be difficult for Liverpool to defend against Willian, Hazard and Giroud.”

5.02pm BST

Today’s Premier League scores

4.55pm BST

Pre-match reading galore

4.32pm BST

Very good news for Liverpool - Virgil van Dijk is fit and starts. There are no surprises in either side.

Chelsea (4-3-3) Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, David Luiz, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic; Willian, Giroud, Hazard.
Substitutes: Caballero, Cahill, Zappacosta, Moses, Fabregas, Barkley, Morata.

4.25pm BST

Liverpool will start this match in second place: Manchester City are on their way to a comfortable over Brighton. You can follow all the 3pm games with Michael Butler.

2.51pm BST

But seriously folks. This feels like the perfect storm for a football match. Two attacking, unbeaten teams in spectacular form, with managers who wouldn’t compromise their principles for Keyser Soze, never mind each other. There are geniuses on both sides and the backstory of a fascinating Carabao Cup match in the week.

This isn’t quite an eliminator for the right to challenge Manchester City. But a win for either team, especially Liverpool, would be a serious statement of title-winning intent. It’s going to be great. It’s got to be great.

9.44am BST

It’s Chelsea v Liverpool. There’s your preamble!

View more on Rob Smyth's website »

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Published on September 29, 2018 11:50

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

A dynamic West Ham performance brought a deserved victory over a listless Manchester United at the London Stadium

3.16pm BST

A lack of VAR is the reason behind Manchester United losing, according to Mourinho.

2.48pm BST

West Ham United 3-1 Manchester United David Hytner’s match report has landed, so I shall leave you with that. Thanks for your company - bye!

2.47pm BST

The Premier League never stops, and there are some belting matches to come this weekend.

2.43pm BST

Here’s Jose Mourinho

“The first goal was offside, but there’s no VAR. In the first half we had a good reaction but then an own goal. In the second half we took a bit of time to react. The goalkeeper made some good saves, their centre-backs had a fantastic match. Congratulations to the scout that found Diop, he is a monster.

2.36pm BST

Post-match chat

Marko Arnautovic “It doesn’t matter how United set up. We have to do our job today and we did it today; that’s why we won. I’m there to help the team, to hold the ball and to score goals. I have nothing to say about [United], their problems have nothing to do with us.”

2.27pm BST

In the BT Sport studio, Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes have come to the conclusion that United’s team lacks only two things: effort and quality. It’s hard to argue with that. The attitude of some players, McTominay and Young in particular, was beyond reproach, but a few of the others weren’t really trying.

2.25pm BST

Michael Butler is following the 3pm games, including Arsenal v Watford and Manchester City v Brighton. Go on, bugger off!

2.21pm BST

Peep peep! Manchester United retain the Premier League Crisis Baton™ with a listless defeat at the London Stadium. West Ham were excellent in parts, competent in others, and fully deserved a win that takes them up to 12th in the table.

2.20pm BST

90+3 min A late change for West Ham. The popular Grady Diangana comes on for his Premier League debut in place of Felipe Anderson.

2.18pm BST

90+1 min “Hi Rob,” says David Wall. “I don’t know if united should make a managerial change right now but if they do perhaps a better choice than another super coach (eg Zidane), might Eddie Howe be a good fit? Bournemouth have become late comeback specialists this season and that’s a typical united characteristic in the past. Would be useful right now too.”

Yes, I’d go for Howe, Pochettino or Simeone, but I suspect it’ll be a galacticoach when it happens.

2.17pm BST

90 min There will be four minutes of added time.

2.15pm BST

88 min It’s late in the day, but this is a clear winner of Email of the Match. “I’m not that arsed about the main headlines from this game and the hundreds of Mourinho crisis column that will follow but something important did just occur to me,” says Phil Cowen. “Is Manuel Pellegrini what Gerry Francis always thought he looked like?”

2.14pm BST

87 min Fred is fouled 35 yards from goal by Snodgrass. Rashford’s free-kick hits the top of the wall and deflects through to Fabianski. His save from Fellaini at 2-0 was absolutely brilliant.

2.11pm BST

85 min Fellaini flicks the ball through to Lukaku, who is wrongly flagged offside. No matter, because Diop dispossessed him anyway.

2.10pm BST

84 min “Right,” says Matt Dony. “This off-side business. Yes, a freeze frame shows that Zabaleta was clearly between six inches and a foot offside, mainly due to his momentum causing him to lean forward across the defensive line. On one hand, that is a substantial enough amount to give a clear offside decision. Yes, the assistant referee was looking right along the line, and in an ideal world would have flagged for it. But, he didn’t have a freeze frame, he also had to be looking ten yards to his left to gauge the exact millisecond that the ball was played, and he had to take in to account the distorting effects of foreshortening (Zabaleta was a few yards from him, the furthest defender back was much further away, making it a harder comparison). If a player is yards offside, then you would expect the right decision to be made 95%+ of the time. But judging tight offside calls on a single, full speed viewing is frankly beyond human capabilities. It’s a miracle, and a testament to the abilities of top-level officials, that we get the right call so often.”

Preach on, Dony. The standard of assistant refereeing in modern football is extraordinary. If you don’t believe me, watch any match you like from the 1980s and early 1990s.

2.09pm BST

83 min A West Ham substitution: the terrific Marko Arnautovic is replacing by Michail Antonio.

2.09pm BST

82 min McTominay moves forward and hits a stinging shot from 25 yards that is palmed behind by the diving Fabiankski. Good save.

2.07pm BST

81 min “Like 98% of United fans, I’ve never cared for Mourinho, never wanted him at United,” says Vishal Vasavada. “I believe that had we stuck with Van Gaal, we would have had a fair shot at the title the following season. But blame his miseries on the rise of player-power. Mourinho took us back to the Champions League, gave these players a chance to play the highest level of football again. His motivational techniques are clearly out of date (even an old-school manager like Fergie knew who and who wouldn’t take his style of tough love), but how shameless are some of these players that they would rather play aimlessly and lose a game, then play for pride? The sight of Fellaini still bothers me a little, but you can tell he is keen to repay the faith his manager has had in him. Good old basic human values leaving football.”

2.06pm BST

79 min United were unhappy with the third goal, thinking there was a foul by Zabaleta on Rashford in the build-up. They’ve got a case, though the defending afterwards was terrible.

2.04pm BST

78 min Ashley Young is booked for taking out his frustration on Felipe Anderson’s left leg.

2.03pm BST

77 min “Hello Rob,” says Ray Chiverton. “Reading the threads from those who think United are a bit unlucky, I think the problem is quite simple. The team will now try to salvage a draw and/or win the game as an act of desperation… from a weak position. If they are (deemed to be) good enough to do this, then they must be good enough to win a game in the first half! The issue here is not that they are unluckily 2-0 down, it’s that they are never in control, and making use of their reasonable forward line. It is a style of play that is leading them to this drastic deterioration.”

I blame the internet.

2.02pm BST

76 min I was about to report a West Ham substitution when they scored. Yarmolenko off, Snodgrass on.

2.01pm BST

Noble, who has been brilliant today, had so much time to slide an angled through pass to Arnautovic, who had just as much time to control the ball, look up and slide it past De Gea from close range. That was hideous defending from Manchester United.

2.00pm BST

That should be it for West Ham!

1.58pm BST

It was an ingenious finish from Rashford. Shaw hit an outswinging corner towards the near post, where Rashford improvised a backheeled volley that caught Fabianski and everyone else by surprise.

1.57pm BST

Marcus Rashford gets one back for United!

1.57pm BST

70 min United make their last two changes - Fred and Juan Mata replace Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial.

1.55pm BST

68 min West Ham look really dangerous on the counter. Felipe Anderson surges forward and slides a through pass that just evades the stretching Arnautovic in the area.

1.54pm BST

65 min “Staunton and Beardsley left 1991,” says Dermo. “Dicks went to Liverpool 1994, Clough 1993. Hardly replaced them. Like all Liverpool fans finds it hard to distinguish arse from elbow. Like all journos you print their nonsense.”

And yours, it seems, because Dicks went to Liverpool in 1993. Also, a player doesn’t have to sign immediately to replace someone. Manchester United didn’t really replace Peter Schmeichel until they signed Edwin van der Sar seven years later.

1.51pm BST

64 min: Brililant save from Fabianski! Young’s high, deep cross was met with a powerful downward header from Fellaini, and Fabianski plunged to his right to palm it away. That was such a good save.

1.48pm BST

62 min “Getting carried away a bit,” says Arthur Tee. “United controlled the game for 25 minutes and are down to a deflection and an offside that was easily seen by everyone but you and the linesman.”

1.47pm BST

61 min “Maybe it was just the act of writing my last email to you, but I had a brain wave that maybe the article about managers lasting a decade was by Barney Ronay and being able to add that aspect to my Google search turned up gold,” says Ben Hendy. “From three years ago, give or take a month, it’s interesting how the story is pretty much bang on for now as it was when it was written.”

1.46pm BST

60 min Manchester United are playing with much greater urgency now.

1.44pm BST

58 min Martial dances magnificently away from Yarmolenko and Zabaleta by the left touchline before hitting a cross that takes a deflection and loops over the head of Fellaini in front of goal.

1.44pm BST

57 min Manchester United’s first change: Marcus Rashford replaces Victor Lindelof, which suggests a switch to 4-3-3. Rashford is not playing well just now but will at least bring some urgency.

1.43pm BST

56 min Pogba loses the ball just outside his own area on the left. It’s fed in to Arnautovic, who turns and is about to shoot when Smalling makes a brilliant tackle.

1.40pm BST

53 min Ashley Young, one of thefew United players beyond reproach, is really trying to get the team going. His long throw is taken down neatly on the chest by Fellaini, who turns to flash a cross-shot not far wide of the far post.

1.39pm BST

51 min “As a Liverpool fan I can’t say I’m not enjoying United’s travails,” says Niall Mullen. “But some of the apocalyptic reaction is a bit much. Get back to me when your manager sells Peter Beardsley and Steve Staunton and replaces them with Nigel Clough and Julian Dicks.”

Nobody has any room for the penal experience these days.

1.37pm BST

50 min West Ham are content to sit deep and try to hit United on the break. Felipe Anderson leads a counter-attack and lofts a long pass to Arnautovic, who batters a half-volley into orbit from the edge of the area.

1.35pm BST

49 min “Woodward liked the last two managers but as soon as it became apparent that they weren’t getting a top four spot, they were gone,” says Paul Fitzgerald. “I think this bottom line will be what does for Mourinho more than anything else.”

Normally I’d agree, but things tend to escalate quickly with Jose.

1.34pm BST

48 min Noble’s long-range shot dribbles through to De Gea.

1.32pm BST

47 min “How long does Mourinho have left?” says Ben Hendy. “Not just at United but at the top table of club football? Who would employ him next? I remember reading an article, possibly on the Guardian but wherever it was I’ve not found it again, about how in almost all cases managers can only stay at the top of the game for a decade. Managers like Fergie or, in other sports, Belichick, are the exception. Most can’t keep up with the way the game changes and it certainly seems like the game has left Jose behind, much as it did Wenger before him. I guess the point is, can anyone else track down that article that I’ve spectacularly failed to find again.”

Inter? But yes, on that theme, it’ll be fascinating to see where Guardiola is when he’s 60.

1.32pm BST

46 min Peep peep! West Ham begin the second half. Manchester United have come back from 2-0 down away from home to win a couple of times under Mourinho. We’ll soon see if they can do it again.

1.19pm BST

Half-time chit-chat

“Seems to me that United are playing with patience and are actually a bit unlucky not to be ahead - offside goal, hit the post, decent shout for a penalty, the home side already time-wasting- ah, and right on cue West Ham fluke a second!” says Duncan Edwards. “No doubt in my mind that United have been the better side - must be something wrong with my mind! I’m confident this will be turned around.”

1.17pm BST

Peep peep! West Ham deserve to be ahead against a prosaic Manchester United, who played like a team in waiting for a new manager.

1.15pm BST

It’s definitely an own goal. Anderson’s left-wing corner found the unmarked Diop, who made a complete mess of a free header. The ball hit his shoulder and fell to Yarmolenko beyond the far post. He worked the ball infield onto his left foot and hit a rising shot that was going miles wide of the far post until it took a big deflection off Lindelof and looped slowly into the net!

1.13pm BST

Yarmolenko’s shot takes a huge deflection, and West Ham are 2-0 up!

1.12pm BST

42 min Felipe Anderson cuts infield and plays the ball square to Arnautovic, who just overhits his return pass. Had that been a touch softer, Anderson would have been through.

1.10pm BST

41 min Obiang mistakes himself for Arie Haan and shoots from 30 yards. No.

1.09pm BST

39 min “As you put it, one can make a case for a lot of things,” says Manoj Joseph. “Unfortunately, I’m not coming up with much when I try to make the case that Mourinho has made United better. Maybe someone else could but the well I drew from to defend Mourinho’s time at United is gone dry.”

Well, he won two trophies and finished second; that’s clear improvement. But this season they have regressed spectacularly.

1.09pm BST

38 min Pogba’s long-range shot takes a deflection and spins behind for a corner. Shaw’s outswinger is met by Lukaku, whose volley is deflected behind for a second corner. When that comes into the area, Masuakua eases McTominay to the canvas. It was a risky challenge - he puts hands on him - but probably not enough for a penalty. Jose Mourinho disagrees.

1.04pm BST

35 min Pogbawatch: 6/10. Nothing much to report. One or two nice bits of skill and strength, one good crossfield pass.

1.04pm BST

34 min Anderson takes the corner short to Noble, gets it back and drives a cross towards Yarmolenko the edge of the area. He hits a volley that pinballs around the area before being booted clear.

1.03pm BST

33 min Noble’s cross towards Arnautovic is headed behind by Smalling.

1.01pm BST

30 min United are dominating possession now, though their build-up work remains painfully slow. They’re playing with all the dynamism and joie de vivre of sober misanthropes at a rave.

12.59pm BST

28 min “Enough is enough, Mourinho has to go,” says Manoj Joseph. “The football is insipid, the mood around the club abysmal and the results pathetic. It’s just as bad as the Moyes days now. Any capable manager should be able to make a squad live up to its potential given enough time while a great manager makes the team perform beyond the sum of its parts. Considering the time and backing Mourinho has had, one could even make a case that his time at United has been worse than Moyes’.”

Well yes, but you can make a case for a lot of things.

12.58pm BST

27 min Shaw’s cross isn’t cleared by Diop, who falls over on the six-yard line. The ball lands nicely for Lukaku, who is about to shoot when the horizontal Diop stretches his left leg to divert the ball away.

12.55pm BST

25 min Manchester United are coming back into this game, with Ashley Young looking dangerous down the right. I’m not sure Felipe Anderson is the most enthusiastic when it comes to tracking back.

12.53pm BST

23 min: Lukaku hits the post! That was a fine move from United. McTominay slid an excellent pass down the line to Young, who curled a dangerous first-time cross to the near post. Lukaku got in front of Diop to flash a header that clattered off the outside of the post. That was a really good effort.

12.49pm BST

20 min Lukaku does very well to beat two West Ham players on the halfway line, but he has almost no support and eventually loses the ball to Diop.

12.48pm BST

18 min West Ham continue to dominate possession, with Declan Rice and Mark Noble to the fore.

12.45pm BST

16 min Replays show the West Ham goal was fractionally offside, with Zabaleta just ahead of the last man before crossing for Felipe Anderson. But it was so tight and almost impossible to give with the naked eye.

12.44pm BST

14 min Martial receives a return pass from Young on the right of the box, only to run the ball straight out of play. He’s starting to look lively, though, which is more that can be said for most of his team-mates.

12.42pm BST

13 min West Ham have had 78 per cent of the possession so far.

12.42pm BST

12 min “Morning my love!” says Adam Hirst. “Ryder Cup will take precedence for me today, even above my own team. Maybe the cycling too but I’ll try to tune in. Interesting that Mourinho considers the Derby game to have been a draw when everybody else seemed to enjoy it like a United defeat. Fantastic spin.”

Yes, and I love how matter-of-factly he says it, as if he was casually stating that Christmas is on December 25.

12.41pm BST

11 min Young’s cross is headed dismally wide by Martial, unmarked six yards out. He was offsideso it wouldn’t have counted anyway.

12.38pm BST

8 min Declan Rice is running the game at the moment. Manchester United have barely had a kick, and if they’re not careful this could get worse.

12.36pm BST

West Ham started excellently and now they are ahead. Noble played a fine straight pass to release Zabaleta on the right. He crossed first time to the near post, where Felipe Anderson danced onto the ball and flicked it behind his standing leg into the net. Actually I’m not sure there was a standing leg as they were both in the air, but you know what I mean. That’s such a nice finish, a great way to score his first goal for the club.

12.35pm BST

This is a superb goal!

12.33pm BST

4 min It’s been a confident start from West Ham, with Manchester United pinned back in their own half.

12.32pm BST

3 min “First emailer of the day came in hot,” says Ryan Grubb. “Now that the golf is a rout, I’ve turned up here for chat about educated fleas. Thanks!”

12.31pm BST

2 min Noble wins an early corner down the right. It’s suung out by Felipe Anderson and headed wide from 10 yards by the under-pressire Balbuena. It wasn’t a chance.

12.31pm BST

1 min United are indeed playing a 3-5-2, with Scott McTominay as the right centre-back.

12.30pm BST

1 min Peep peep! United, in their pink away kit, get the match under way. West Ham are in claret and blue.

12.20pm BST

“Ah, yes,” says Matt Dony. “We’re in the Jose endgame. And I’ll miss him when he’s gone. I always miss him when he leaves. And he always leaves. I always prefer the Premier League when he’s in it. I mean, I would hate it if he managed a club I support, but as a presence, he’s top value. (I’ve half-supported Madrid since McManaman went, and he did put a bit of strain on that, in fairness. But to enjoy the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain.)”

I would love it if he turned this round, won the Premier and Champions League this season, and turned up to every match wearing a trendy grey jumper, a yellow ribbon and the smuggest smile in Christendom. But even for an incorrigible optimist like me, it’s hard to see a happy ending.

12.07pm BST

Jose speaks

“It’s been a week with two bad results, two draws at home. It is what it is and it’s in the past. Now we have a very difficult match against a team who have had a fantastic week. They are on a high; fantastic investment they made in the summer. But we believe in the work we did in the week.

11.57am BST

There have been famous matches between these sides over the years. Our Jacob and Our Daniel picked six of the best.

11.55am BST

Alexis Sanchez travelled with the squad but is not even on the bench for United. There are suggestions that Scott McTominay will start in a back three. West Ham should be in the usual 4-1-4-1/4-3-3 shape.

11.51am BST

The first email of the day!

“Your preamble seems to be directed at non-Man Utd fans,” says Philip Brennan. “And it’s not directed at Hammers fans either as I’m sure they’d rather read about their team than more garbage about us. So as a Man Utd fan I’m wondering why I (or any other Utd fan) bothers coming on here? I’d love to hear from any who don’t swallow this rubbish and who would like an impartial report on the bloody football match.”

11.36am BST

Pre-match reading

11.33am BST

West Ham (4-3-3) Fabianski; Zabaleta, Balbuena, Diop, Masuaku; Noble, Rice, Obiang; Yarmolenko, Arnautovic, Felipe Anderson.
Substitutes: Adrian, Ogbonna, Fredericks, Snodgrass, Diangana, Antonio, Lucas.

Manchester United (3-5-2) De Gea; McTominay, Smalling, Lindelof; Young, Fellaini, Matic, Pogba, Shaw; Lukaku, Martial.
Substitutes: Grant, Bailly, Darmian, Herrera, Fred, Mata, Rashford.

9.43am BST

Good afternoon. Let’s start with a spoiler: Jose Mourinho won’t be at Manchester United next season. You know this, I know this, even educated fleas know this. But even though the storylines are clichéd and we don’t like many of the central characters - have you seen what that Pogba’s done with his hair - we keep tuning in to see what happens next and how exactly Mourinho is killed off.

Today’s episode takes him to West Ham, whose fans enjoy little more than applying the sole of their Dr Martens to anything connected with Manchester United. They ruined Alex Ferguson’s title challenges in 1991-92 and 1994-95 and would love to serenade Mourinho with “You’re gettng sacked in the morning” towards the end of this match.

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Published on September 29, 2018 06:48

September 28, 2018

Premier League, Madrid derby and Scottish scheduling news – as it happened

Jose Mourinho disappointed everyone failed to throw a tantrum at his press conference, while Maurizio Sarri hailed Eden Hazard’s unique genius

4.12pm BST

With that, we’re going to wrap up today’s blog. Thanks for your company and emails, all four of them. I’ll leave with you some hyperlinks to all today’s news and features. Bye!

4.05pm BST

Barney Ronay’s weekend column has also landed. This week he considers ... the laughable brilliance of Eden Hazard.

4.02pm BST

It’s 4pm, which means it’s time for, er, The Fiver.

4.00pm BST

La Liga department

Here’s a bit more on tomorrow’s Madrid derby, and those unlikely midweek results.

3.58pm BST

It’s the Madrid derby!

Real coach Julen Lopetegui has been speaking ahead of tomorrow’s match.

3.52pm BST

Europe are having a monstrous afternoon at the Ryder Cup. They were 3-0 down earlier today but could soon be 5-3 up. Scott Murray has the latest.

3.51pm BST

Squad sheets galore

3.30pm BST

Burnley squad news

Steven Defour could feature in the Burnley side for their Premier League trip to Cardiff on Sunday.

3.29pm BST

Newcastle squad news

Salomon Rondon is out of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Leicester at St James’ Park.

3.28pm BST

Manchester City news

Here’s more from our man Paul Wilson on Benjamin Mendy’s punctuality issues.

3.03pm BST

Crystal Palace news

Christian Benteke remains Crystal Palace’s only significant absentee for Monday’s Premier League fixture at Bournemouth. The striker remains sidelined with a knee injury, so Jordan Ayew is expected to continue to deputise.

3.02pm BST

2.59pm BST

On This Day ... in 1996, Sunderland’s Paul Stewart gets two yellow cards at Highbury - both for deliberate handball.

2.41pm BST

In other words, he fudged it.

“There are three elements, three aspects,” said Emery. “One is the player and also the player with their family and representatives. The other is the club and the other is the squad. My focus is always on the team. My focus is preparing with the players and only thinking about the match tomorrow.

2.41pm BST

Arsenal news

Here’s what Unai Emery had to say about Aaron Ramsey’s contract talks:

2.36pm BST

The Ryder Cup

Europe had a desperate start but things are looking a bit better now. Scott Murray has the latest.

2.33pm BST

Manchester United news

Here’s more from Jamie Jackson on Jose Mourinho’s disappointingly tantrum-free press conference.

2.31pm BST

Some more quotes from Pep Guardiola

On Kevin de Bruyne “Everything is going well. Kevin is making the lest steps now so we hope to see him back soon.”

2.20pm BST

Manchester United team news

Marcos Rojo and Sergio Romero are the only absentees as Manchester United head to West Ham, where Paul Pogba will be among the starters.

2.11pm BST

Arsenal team news: Sokratis returns

Sokratis Papastathopoulos has recovered from a leg injury to return for Arsenal’s Premier League clash against Watford on Saturday.

2.10pm BST

Marco Silva has confirmed Yerry Mina’s Everton debut remains on hold after the former Barcelona defender sustained a foot injury in training this week. Everton’s £28m summer signing has yet to make an appearance for his new club this season having arrived with a foot problem suffered during the World Cup with Colombia.

The central defender returned to first team training two weeks ago and had been in contention to feature against Fulham at Goodison Park on Saturday. However, a training ground collision with Bernard has postponed Mina’s debut once again.

2.05pm BST

Chelsea team news

Andreas Christensen should be fit for Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Liverpool on Saturday after shaking off a stomach bug.

2.05pm BST

Some more quotes from Jose Mourinho on Wednesday’s chit chat with Paul Pogba

“I cannot tell you [what was said]. The training session was open, you had some cameras with potential to get some of the words. I’m not going to comment, it was a conversation.

2.00pm BST

Jose Mourinho has stated Paul Pogba will start Manchester United’s game at West Ham United, with the manager clear that, though “no player is bigger” than the club, the midfielder has trained well and deserves selection.

“He’s a player like the others,” said Mourinho. “No player is bigger than the club and if I’m happy with his work he plays. If I’m not happy he doesn’t play. I’m happy with his work this week, really happy.

1.56pm BST

Sarri hails ‘genius’ Hazard

Maurizio Sarri has tipped “genius” Eden Hazard to become the best player in the world - if he can add extra intensity to his training.

1.52pm BST

Wolves team news

Wolves are likely to revert back to the same side who have started their previous six Premier League games.

1.51pm BST

Huddersfield team news

Huddersfield manager David Wagner will choose from an unchanged squad for the home game against Tottenham.

1.44pm BST

More on the Betfred Cup scheduling controversy

The Scottish Professional Football League has scheduled both games for Hampden on the same day - with Celtic facing Hearts at 7.45pm later on October 28 - to get around the problem of the Glasgow clubs’ Europa League duties on the previous Thursday.

1.43pm BST

Fake news department

Jose Mourinho’s press conference is at 2pm, not 1.30pm as I suggested.

1.40pm BST

Kevin De Bruyne will be ready to return to training for Manchester City in a few days, according to manager Pep Guardiola.

The Belgian playmaker suffered a knee ligament injury in training in August but is now close to being able to rejoin his team-mates.

1.31pm BST

West Ham team news

Marko Arnautovic returns for West Ham against Manchester United, but Javier Hernandez misses out against his former club.

1.30pm BST

Jose Mourinho is due to meet the press any second now. I bet he’s full of that Friday feeling.

1.26pm BST

Liverpool news

1.17pm BST

On This Day ... in 1991, Dave Bassett’s Sheffield United draw 0-0 with Wimbledon. Look at these highlights right now.

1.16pm BST

A bit more West Ham news from the wires

Manuel Pellegrini is confident Declan Rice will agree a new contract at West Ham.

1.12pm BST

On This Day ... in 1991, Manchester City 1-2 Oldham Athletic.

1.07pm BST

West Ham news

Marko Arnautovic is fit to play against Manchester United tomorrow.

1.04pm BST

The first squad sheets have landed, which means it’s officially the weekend.

1.00pm BST

Tottenham news

Here’s more from our man Dave Hytner on Mauricio Pochettino’s comments about Gareth Bale.

12.50pm BST

Ryder Cup latest

The fourballs have finished, and it’s Europe 1-3. USA. Follow the foursomes with Scott Murray.

12.48pm BST

On This Day ... in 1999, the world was a better place. And Chelsea won in the Champions League proper for the first time in their history.

12.44pm BST

“Hi Rob,” says Ben Wareing. “Talking about quitting and then returning the next day is a great reason to listen to this story from Larry David at about 4:30.”

12.43pm BST

Huddersfield Town news

Huddersfield boss David Wagner is not concerned his side have been written off in the Premier League.

12.41pm BST

Ryder Cup latest

It’s Europe 0-3 USA, though Europe should - should - win the last fourball.

12.32pm BST

Lunchtime reading

Jacob Steinberg met Fulham’s Belgian defender Denis Odoi, and here’s what they produced together.

12.30pm BST

Manchester United’s football might stink at the moment but they’re the most entertaining team in the league when it comes to press conferences.

At Carrington for what is bound to be an absorbing press conference. Mourinho has done more for #mufc than Pogba but player power is growing at the club pic.twitter.com/xOjIdnnhM9

12.15pm BST

Forest Green 1-0 Every Other Football Club In The World

The United Nations has presented Forest Green with a “Momentum for Change” climate action award after they became the first football club in the world to go carbon neutral at the start of the season.

12.10pm BST

Never mind the football, you really need to get on this golf.

12.04pm BST

Tottenham Hotspur news

Mauricio Pochettino admits Tottenham got “lucky” when Gareth Bale and then Dele Alli both turned out to be such talents, but believes there are still other gems to be unearthed from lower leagues.

11.59am BST

Jurgen Klopp has said Liverpool have a duty to strike back against Chelsea following their defeat to Maurizio Sarri’s side in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

Liverpool can establish a five point gap over the team that ended their 100% start to the season with victory at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Klopp, who could again be without Virgil van Dijk due to a rib injury, admits the cup defeat will serve as motivation for the Premier League encounter.

11.53am BST

West Ham news (sort of)

Slaven Bilic has got a new job and that.

مرحباً بك في معقل النمور .. pic.twitter.com/fLxhhDYyWS

11.40am BST

“God,” says Richard Dunne, addressing me in an appropriate manner, “I remember that game at Chelsea in 1997 like it was yesterday. I can’t remember how many times I replayed that McManaman miss when we were 2-0 up in my head in the days afterwards. That was my first season as a Liverpool fan. Little did I think I’d still be waiting for a PL trophy in 2018, and getting up at 2am in Cambodia to watch tomorrow’s game at 2am.

“I think this is the first time we’ve had a great attack and a solid defence at the same time since the Premier League started. Even with Rafa’s best teams we were only one Torres injury away from N’Gog! The introduction of Mark Hughes in that game was, without a doubt, one of the most effective substitutions I’ve ever seen!”

11.33am BST

Here are those quotes from Jurgen Klopp on Virgil van Djik’s fitness.

Virgil hasn’t trained with the team so we have to wait and see. He is a world-class player, and if you miss a world-class player it’s not cool. But [Dejan] Lovren played his first game in 10 weeks. He played an outstanding game. [Joel] Matip, two games in a row, fantastic. If Virgil is fit, he plays. If not, then obviously we have options.

11.30am BST

Mark Hughes on Southampton’s trip to Wolves

“They do impress you with how they approach the game, with a lot of depth to their play. They can rotate the ball and have a danger in key areas of the field, with good threats in wider areas.

11.24am BST

Aberdeen news

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has described the treatment of their fans as “really unfair” after the Betfred Cup semi-final against Rangers was scheduled for a Sunday noon kick-off.

11.24am BST

“Regarding your threat to quit on principle before returning the next day, you probably think Press is about you,” says Ian Copestake. “Don’t you?”

What is a Press?

11.22am BST

The Ryder Cup Europe have fought back in the Fourballs. Scott Murray - who only has two and a half days to go before he’s allowed a trip to the toilet - has the latest news.

11.21am BST

Liverpool team news

Jurgen Klopp says their talisman Virgil van Dijk is a doubt for tomorrow’s match at Chelsea. He’s probably their most important player so that would be a huge blow.

11.20am BST

Bournemouth team news

Bournemouth will check on defender Diego Rico (hamstring) and midfielder Dan Gosling (calf) ahead of Monday night’s Premier League match against Crystal Palace.

11.19am BST

Some brunchtime reading for you Paul MacInnes has been talking to Jon Smith about his new scheme, the Fans Agency.

11.16am BST

On This Day ... in 1991, Ian Wright scores a hat-trick on his league debut for Arsenal.

11.15am BST

“I think I remember Berger and McManaman playing as inverted wingers in that Chelsea game in 1997, an unexpected ruse at the time and one that helped Liverpool go 2-0 up,” says Alex Russell. “Evans might have been blazing the trail for the current norm of inverted forwards.”

Sepp Piontek definitely did it with Denmark in the 1980s: Frank Arnesen often played on the left and Jesper Olsen on the right. Somebody should write a book about that team.

11.06am BST

And a bit more Brighton news

Brighton midfielder Beram Kayal has agreed a one-year contract extension until June 2020.

11.06am BST

More Leicester news from the wires

Leicester boss Claude Puel would not be drawn on whether Andy King and Danny Simpson have a future at the club.

10.54am BST

Cardiff team news

Lee Peltier starts a lengthy spell on the sidelines as Cardiff host Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday.

10.53am BST

Chelsea v Liverpool department

You could make a case for this being the end of the Spice Boys, and the start of Chelsea as an elite club.

10.49am BST

It’s getting tense in the Fourballs at the Ryder Cup, and Europe are in a bit of bother. Join Scott Murray for the latest.

10.45am BST

On This Day ... in 1985, a Torgasm in Dusseldorf.

10.42am BST

An email!

“As The Guardian seems to have gone for the American style fixture naming, i.e. away team first, surely it should read Liverpool @ Chelsea,” says Dan Johnson. “I prefer Chelsea v Liverpool, but I’m getting old.”

10.40am BST

Previously on Chelsea v Liverpool...

There are some bloody majestic goals in this, and a memorably odd bit of commentary from Alan Parry. Ewwww indeed.

10.39am BST

Since you asked, Jose Mourinho’s press conference is due to start at 1.30pm

and end around 1.31pm
.

10.38am BST

On This Day ... in 1998, Neil Ruddock and Ian Wright do the Di Canio.

10.31am BST

Cardiff City cews, culled with love and affection from the wires.

Neil Warnock has urged his Cardiff side to “hang in there” after their winless start to the Premier League season.

10.08am BST

On This Day ... in 1996, Matt Le Tissier scores straight from a corner.

10.04am BST

Brighton & Hove Albion team news

Dale Stephens and Pascal Gross will miss Brighton’s trip to Premier League champions Manchester City.

10.03am BST

On This Day... in 2001, Kevin Gallen puts Chelsea out of Europe. Hang on, let’s try that one again.

9.56am BST

The Rumour Mill has landed, and it’s full of volcanic gossip.

9.54am BST

A Liverpool fan writes “Glossing over the Lisbie masterclass, that Rooney hat trick was truly a thing to behold,” writes Matt Dony. “Obviously, I was never a fan, but it’s a shame his later years cast such a huge shadow. He peaked so early, and it’s all to easy to remember him hustling around midfield, getting frustrated at himself and those around him, while forgetting that his early years were often the stuff of Hollywood. Now he doesn’t play for Everton or United, it’s easier for me to admit that he was comfortably one of the best 17/18 yr olds I’ve ever seen, anywhere in world football.”

Yes, there’s a lot of revisionism around his career isn’t there? Until that sliding-doors injury against Bayern Munich in 2010, he was almost entirely magnificent. It’s easy to forget quite how highly he was regarded – see, for example, this piece by the late James Lawton.

9.38am BST

On This Day ... in 2002, a terrifying performance from the champions Arsenal at Elland Road.

9.33am BST

Watford news

Here’s a bit more from the Press Association wires on that Christian Kabasele story. Where were you where you heard the news?

9.32am BST

Whatever you do today, don’t forget the golf.

9.31am BST

This is nice interview with Seema Jaswal, one of the stars of ITV’s World Cup coverage.

9.29am BST

Arsenal news

It looks like Aaron Ramsey will be leaving the club next summer after contract talks broke down. Or, rather, after Arsenal took the engine out of contract talks and tossed it into the nearest river.

9.26am BST

Yesterday’s episode of Football Weekly was a cracker, even by our standa- Okay, I’ll be honest, I haven’t listened to it as I was too busy with Celebrity Masterchef last night. But I might listen to it later, and you definitely should.

9.23am BST

On This Day ... in 2003, Kevin Lisbie 3-2 Liverpool.

9.21am BST

The big Premier League game of the weekend is Chelsea v Liverpool tomorrow evening. Eden Hazard, who scored that majestic winner at Anfield in the week, is having so much fun under Maurizio Sarri that he may now sign a new contract to stay at the club.

9.18am BST

Fulham team news

Alfie Mawson faces a late fitness test before Fulham select their starting XI for Saturday’s trip to Everton.

9.17am BST

On This Day ... in 2004, Wayne Rooney scored a bleedin’ Champions League hat-trick on his Manchester United debut.

9.15am BST

Leicester City team news

Leicester will be without Demarai Gray when they travel to Newcastle, with the winger set for up to six weeks out through injury.

9.14am BST

Here’s our columnist Eni Aluko on why Fifa got it all wrong by giving Marta the award for best female player of 2018.

9.12am BST

The Sky Sports News presenters have their JFK face on. That can mean only one thing: yes, Christian Kabasele’s red card against Spurs has been rescinded and he’s available for Watford’s trip to Arsenal tomorrow.

9.11am BST

Manchester United news

Here’s the latest on quiet achiever Paul Pogba’s future.

9.09am BST

On This Day... in 2008, Wigan beat nouveau riche Manchester City. As if that could happen nowadays.

9.09am BST

Southampton team news

Southampton will welcome back on-loan forward Danny Ings for the Premier League trip to Wolves.

9.07am BST

This is such sad news. He was a giant of sports writing.

Desperately sad news. Jim's writing was magnificent and set him apart, but he was always so welcoming in the press box, and willing and eager to offer advice to those setting out in the industry. Rest in peace, Jim https://t.co/PPK2CsgR0T

Somewhere up there, Jim Lawton is still railing about Sven Göran Eriksson’s unfitness for office. Many years ago he drove from Old Trafford to Manchester Piccadilly station in the style of Juan Fangio to get me on the last train home after a night match. Rest in peace, Jim.

9.05am BST

Breakfast reading

9.01am BST

It’s just not football

If you want to follow some live sport, rather than people talking about the weekend’s sport, the magnificent Scott Murray is covering day one of the Ryder Cup.

8.43am BST

Tottenham Hotspur news

Everyone’s favourite Danish genius, Christian Eriksen, will miss the trip to Huddersfield because of an abdominal problems. Serge Aurier picked up a thigh injury against Watford in the week and will be assessed. Hugo Lloris (thigh) and Michel Vorm (knee) are still out.

8.40am BST

Good morning and welcome to the latest episode of Coaches in Conferences getting Cranky. Yep, it’s our Friday football preview. We’ll have team news, quotes from press conferences - and all the latest from Trent Duvall, our newly appointed Paul Pogba Instagram Correspondent.

These are this weekend’s Premier League fixtures

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Published on September 28, 2018 08:12

Premier League team news and Liverpool v Chelsea buildup – live!

Latest news plus buildup to the Madrid derbyYou can email Rob with your thoughtsPremier League: 10 things to look out for

9.33am BST

Watford news

Here’s a bit more from the Press Association wires on that Christian Kabasele story. Where were you where you heard the news?

9.32am BST

Whatever you do today, don’t forget the golf.

9.31am BST

This is nice interview with Seema Jaswal, one of the stars of ITV’s World Cup coverage.

9.29am BST

Arsenal news

It looks like Aaron Ramsey will be leaving the club next summer after contract talks broke down. Or, rather, after Arsenal took the engine out of contract talks and tossed it into the nearest river.

9.26am BST

9.23am BST

On This Day ... in 2003, Kevin Lisbie 3-2 Liverpool.

9.21am BST

9.18am BST

Fulham team news

Alfie Mawson faces a late fitness test before Fulham select their starting XI for Saturday’s trip to Everton.

9.17am BST

On This Day ... in 2004, Wayne Rooney scored a bleedin’ Champions League hat-trick on his Manchester United debut.

9.15am BST

Leicester City team news

Leicester will be without Demarai Gray when they travel to Newcastle, with the winger set for up to six weeks out through injury.

9.14am BST

Here’s our columnist Eni Aluko on why Fifa got it all wrong by giving Marta the award for best female player of 2018.

9.12am BST

9.11am BST

Manchester United news

Here’s the latest on quiet achiever Paul Pogba’s future.

9.09am BST

On This Day... in 2008, Wigan beat nouveau riche Manchester City. As if that could happen nowadays.

9.09am BST

Southampton team news

Southampton will welcome back on-loan forward Danny Ings for the Premier League trip to Wolves.

9.07am BST

This is such sad news. He was a giant of sports writing.

9.05am BST

Breakfast reading

9.01am BST

It’s just not football

If you want to follow some live sport, rather than people talking about the weekend’s sport, the magnificent Scott Murray is covering day one of the Ryder Cup.

8.43am BST

Tottenham Hotspur news

8.40am BST

These are this weekend’s Premier League fixtures

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Published on September 28, 2018 01:33

September 23, 2018

Arsenal 2-0 Everton: Premier League – as it happened

Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored in the space of three minutes to flatten Everton and give Arsenal a fourth consecutive league win

6.14pm BST

David Hytner’s match report has dropped, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company and emails - bye!

6.13pm BST

Tom Davies speaks “We’re disappointed. First half we were very good and had good shape, but if you don’t take chances they’ll punish you here. Their goals were a sucker punch really. We’ve worked hard all week and we did put a good shift in, but it’s not enough. It’s a proud moment for me [to be Everton’s youngest ever captain in the league] and I’d love to continue. I feel like it’s a natural role for me to take on.”

6.03pm BST

That was a strange moment on Sky Sports. The interview Geoff Shreeves asked Alexandre Lacazette how big a debt the team owed to Petr Cech for the victory. Lacazette said, ‘Big big thanks to Petr Cech, because today he takes (i.e. saves) a lot of balls, so for the first time we have a clean sheet.’

And then Shreeves told him to be ‘steady with the language’!

5.55pm BST

That’s Arsenal’s fourth consecutive league win, and they have a decent run of fixtures in the next month or so:

5.52pm BST

Peep peep! Arsenal move up to sixth after keeping their first clean sheet under Unai Emery. It was an erratic performance, but two goals in three minutes just after half-time flattened a hitherto impressive Everton. The first, from Alexandre Lacazette, was a cracker; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goal was palpably offside.

5.51pm BST

90+3 min Xhaka swishes a lovely long-range shot a few yards wide of the far post.

5.50pm BST

90+1 min Four added minutes.

5.50pm BST

90 min “You’re coming across as rather negative wrt Arsenal - five wins in a row since Man City and Chelsea, many différent scorers etc,” says Andrew Hurley. “Yes, their squad needs reincorcements but credit is due... (remember United and Moyes?)”

Oh, I wasn’t deliberately being negative, I just don’t think they’ve played particularly well. You can see what Emery is trying to do, though, and the first goal was a beauty. I’ve also taken a shine to Joe Pesci in midfield.

5.46pm BST

88 min Lucas Torreira looks like an absolutely horrible piece of work to play against. I say that with the greatest admiration. If he doesn’t get in trouble with officious English referees, he’ll be a brilliant signing.

5.44pm BST

85 min Tosun blasts a 20-yard shot that is punched away by Cech, falling to his right. Moments later, Digne’s cross hits the outside of the near post.

5.42pm BST

83 min Bernard carefully tees up Sigurdsson, whose rising drive from 20 yards is deflected over the bar. Nothing comes of the corner.

5.40pm BST

82 min Zouma makes a fine block from Welbeck’s shot. Everton have given this up.

5.38pm BST

80 min Arsenal make their last change, with Danny Welbeck replacing Aaron Ramsey.

5.37pm BST

78 min Both players are fine to continue.

5.35pm BST

77 min Mustafi and Richarlison are down after a collision. It looks like a head injury to Richarlison.

5.34pm BST

74 min Lucas Torreira looks the kind of defensive midfielder Arsenal have needed for a while. He is, to an use an Everton phrase, a little dog of war. All hail Torreira the terrier.

5.30pm BST

72 min A double change for Everton: Cenk Tosun and Bernard replace Theo Walcott and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

5.29pm BST

71 min Sigurdsson lofts a free-kick towards Keane, whose downward header is shovelled round the post by Cech. That’s another excellent save.

5.29pm BST

71 min A win would take Arsenal up to sixth, which I suppose is their par position in the league at the moment.

5.28pm BST

70 min Calvert-Lewin makes a smart run to beat the offside trap and crosses to Richarlison, whose shot is blocked by Bellerin.

5.26pm BST

68 min An Arsenal substitution: Alex Iwobi replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

5.26pm BST

67 min Everton’s heads have gone down since the second goal, and if they’re not careful the scoreline could get a bit seedy.

5.23pm BST

65 min Bellerin’s long-range shot is comfortably saved by Pickford.

5.23pm BST

63 min “Ah, I’m not one to brag about sporting achievements that, in all honesty, I contributed very little to,” says Matt Dony. “I’ve spent too much time with too many United fans to ever do that. (Ouch! Someone call the special burns unit!) I do miss that chuffing perch, though.”

What did George Graham do with that perch? He should put it on eBay.

5.22pm BST

61 min Six points in six games is a poor start for Everton but they have nothing to worry about. There’s a lot to admire in this team, and they will be even better once the summer signings are available. They need a high-class centre forward, though.

5.20pm BST

60 min ‘And Everton will go mad, and they have every right to go mad.’

5.18pm BST

Aubameyang was a mile offside when he scored. After a slip from Zouma, Arsenal had a three-on-one break led by Ozil. He tried to give the goal to Ramsey, who got in a bit of a tangle and ended up diverting the ball to Aubameyang. He had a simple finish from six yards, though replays showed it was a really poor decision from the assistant referee to give the goal. A shocker, in fact.

5.17pm BST

Two goals in three minutes!

5.15pm BST

It was a great finish from Lacazette, an impromptu tribute to Thierry Henry. Ramsey found him in space on the left side of the box. He moved the ball onto his right foot and whipped a rising curler that slammed off the inside of the post and into the net. Pickford had no chance.

5.14pm BST

Pick that out!

5.13pm BST

55 min Arsenal appeal desperately for a penalty when Aubameyang’s header hits the hand of Kenny. They were very close to each other and I’m not sure Kenny could have got out of the way.

5.12pm BST

54 min Everton have started the second half very well, and if they play with a bit more precision they are in serious danger of winning away to Arsenal for the first time Babylon Zoo were a thing.

5.08pm BST

50 min “Still seems odd to see Arsenal moving the ball down the wings and launching in corners,” says Hubert O’Hearn. “It’s like archaeologists discovering the end of an ancient empire, or more prosaically as startling as a man who sees something move in his wastepaper basket.”

5.08pm BST

49 min Walcott, sporting a black eye, concedes a corner. Ozil and Ramsey try the old Beckham/Scholes routine; Ramsey’s half-volley from 25 yards is well struck but too close to Pickford.

5.05pm BST

47 min “Your Copestakes and your Donys are exactly why so many fans say they dread Liverpool winning the title,” says Ian Copestake. “Supposedly you just would never hear the last of it whatever the month.”

I’m already haunted by Steve McMahon’s smug, bellicose coupon should Liverpool win the league, and it hasn’t even happened.

5.04pm BST

46 min Peep peep! Arsenal begin the second half.

4.50pm BST

“Are you sure it has all been Everton so far, Mr. Smyth?” says Bill Hargreaves. “The stats say otherwise. (Said in the voice of the verger on ‘Dad’s Army.)”

I wouldn’t say all Everton, but they’ve been the more purposeful team and have had most of the chances.

4.49pm BST

Half-time reading

4.49pm BST

I told you there’d be goals.

4.47pm BST

45+1 min Lucas, already booked, is not penalised for a late tackle on Digne. That might have been a second yellow card. Marco Silva is 0.00 per cent enamoured with the decision, and generously shares his take on things with Unai Emery. For what it’s worth - nowt - I think it should have been a free-kick but not a second yellow.

4.46pm BST

45 min Three added minutes.

4.45pm BST

44 min Another lovely break from Everton. Sigurdsson belts a long crossfield pass to Walcott, who cushions it back to Richarlison. He surges towards the area, moves the ball away from Holding and Bellerin and hits a rising left-footed shot that is pawed over by Cech. Good save.

4.44pm BST

43 min Here’s Ian Copestake. “I am sure (because I suffer from the same thing) Matt Dony’s display of presumed giddiness is in fact utter fear driven by exactly the traumas you so indelicately referred back to.”

It’s September!

4.42pm BST

42 min Aubameyang’s mis-hit cross from the left loops over Pickford and hits the face of the bar! Pickford made like he had it covered but I’m not sure he did.

4.42pm BST

41 min “Arsenal are an arithmetical curiosity today - they seem at times to have more men on the field but doing less with it,” says Charles Antaki. “More combinations, less results. Shouldn’t be mathematically possible.”

4.41pm BST

40 min Lacazette, found in the area by Ramsey, takes far too long on the ball and is dispossessed by Gueye. That was a good chance.

4.40pm BST

40 min Walcott has a problem with his right eye, which is swollen and red. I’m not sure what happened there.

4.39pm BST

39 min Sokratis is going off with an injury which I think he sustained when he fouled Walcott. Rob Holding replaces him.

4.38pm BST

38 min Cech makes a good save to deny Walcott. Sigurdsson, on the right, angled a fine through pass to Walcott, whose first touch on the run was fractionally heavy. That invited Cech to spring from his line and he blocked Walcott’s stabbed shot with his right leg.

4.37pm BST

37 min Arsenal are starting to dominate possession, though Everton still look the more dangerous side. It hasn’t been a great game. I’m not sure it’s been an average one.

4.36pm BST

34 min “2014 taught me EVERYTHING,” says Matt Dony. “That’s why I want to finish now, before it slips. We can’t go again.”

4.32pm BST

32 min A fine break from Arsenal. Lacazette’s driven pass over the top releases Ozil on the left of the box. He comes back onto his right foot and tries to tee up Ramsey, who is preparing to shoot when the recovering Keane gets a slight but vital touch on the ball.

4.30pm BST

31 min Digne cracks it over the wall and forces a decent save from Cech, who dances across his line to palm it over the bar.

4.30pm BST

30 min Walcott wins the ball in a dangerous area and is booted up in the air by Sokratis, who is rightly booked. The free-kick is by the right corner of the penalty area...

4.29pm BST

28 min Richarlison zips away from Lucas just outside the area and tries a Thierry Henry finish into the far corner. It drifts a few yards wide.

4.27pm BST

28 min Wenger out!

4.26pm BST

27 min Digne is booked for offending referee Jon Moss’s sensibilities.

4.26pm BST

26 min “Excellent effort from West Ham earlier,” says Matt Dony, who may or may support Liverpool. “As a celebration of that result, and the effect it’s had on the table, I’d like to suggest we finish the league for the season here and now. Stick a fork in it - It’s done. I mean, it might disappoint people with tickets for upcoming matches, but hey, at least you could wrap up this MBM and get home early on a Sunday night? (Almost) Everyone’s a winner...”

Don’t tell me you’re getting giddy already. Did 2014 teach you nothing?

4.25pm BST

25 min Sigurdsson wins a corner for Everton, who continue to dominate. It’s a poor one from Digne and Cech claims easily.

4.22pm BST

21 min Lovely play from Richarlison. He controlled Kenny’s long pass beautifully, scooted away from Bellerin and clipped a curling shot on the run that was beaten away by the diving Cech. It was a fairly comfortable save, as the shot was nowhere near the corner, but it was a fine run.

4.19pm BST

19 min Arsenal look very jittery in defence. Everton have been the better team so far.

4.14pm BST

15 min Lucas Torreira is booked for literally biting Sigurdsson’s ankles.

4.14pm BST

14 min “In the category of ‘Sentences never uttered in the history of the world’,” begins JR in Illinois, “I’d like to nominate: ‘Marouane Chamakh is an idol of mine....I’ve imitated his haircuts.’”

And why not?

4.12pm BST

12 min: Good save by Pickford! Ozil found Bellerin, whose cross deflected off Keane and beyond the far post. Aubameyang calmly steered it back to Monreal, whose first-time shot was clawed away by Pickford.

4.10pm BST

11 min This has been a fine start from Everton. Richarlison plays a neat pass infield to Sigurdsson, whose cross is cleared awkwardly by Sokratis.

4.09pm BST

8 min Xhaka loses the ball twice on the edge of his own area in the space of three seconds. Everton put Walcott clear on the right of the box but he is fractionally offside.

4.06pm BST

5 min Kenny concedes a corner, the first of the match. Nothing comes of it.

4.02pm BST

2 min: Calvert-Lewin misses a great early chance! He was put through on goal by Davies but had almost too much time to decide what to do. He should have slid it across to Richarlison in front of an open goal; instead he tried to go round the outside of Cech, who spread himself to smother the danger.

4.00pm BST

1 min Peep peep! Everton get the match under way. They are wearing their carbon and pink glo (sic) away strip; Arsenal are in red and white.

3.57pm BST

The players emerge from the tunnel on a lovely afternoon in North London. Everton are led by Tom Davies, who at the age of 20 is their youngest ever captain.

3.26pm BST

Pre-match reading

3.21pm BST

West Ham and Chelsea have drawn 0-0 in the early game. You can get live reaction with Ben Fisher.

3.16pm BST

Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Cech; Bellerin, Mustafi, Sokratis, Monreal; Torreira, Xhaka; Ozil, Ramsey, Aubameyang; Lacazette.
Substitutes: Leno, Lichtsteiner, Holding, Elneny, Guendouzi, Iwobi, Welbeck.

Everton (4-2-3-1) Pickford; Kenny, Keane, Zouma, Digne; Gueye, Davies; Walcott, Sigurdsson, Richarlison; Calvert-Lewin.
Substitutes: Stekelenburg, Holgate, Baines, Tosun, Schneiderlin, Bernard, Lookman.

8.26am BST

Hello. There’s one area in which Unai Emery surely cannot outdo Arsene Wenger, and that’s

not seeing the incident
beating Everton. They were Wenger’s favourite opponent as Arsenal manager, with the most wins (32), the most goals (103) and most euphoric moment (“would you BELIEVE IT?!”). Arsenal put five past Everton twice in Wenger’s last season.

Though Everton have had the odd moment against Arsenal in the Premier League, one in particular, they have mostly been compliant opponents. Arsenal are formidable at home when they aren’t playing teams from Manchester or Östersund and will be strong favourites today.

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Published on September 23, 2018 10:14

September 22, 2018

Brighton 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur: Premier League — as it happened

Harry Kane and Erik Lamela scored as Spurs ended their losing run with a hard-fought victory in the rain at the Amex Stadium

7.38pm BST

Nick Ames’ match report has landed, which is my cue to do one. Thanks for your company, bye!

7.37pm BST

Post-match interviews

Harry Kane “I thought we played well – a lot of energy, should have put the game to bed and it was a bit nervy at the end. It was a foul (by Bong, which led to the penalty). I tried to stay on my feet but I was clipped. As a striker, if you’re not scoring goals people will ask questions – that’s part of the job. Hopefully we can build a bit of momentum after today.”

7.27pm BST

The win moves Spurs up to fifth, a point behind Watford. Brighton stay in 13th.

7.24pm BST

That was a cracking match. Spurs deserved to win, but Brighton were superb in the second half. Harry Kane’s penalty and Erik Lamela’s fine goal put Spurs 2-0 up before Anthony Knockaert gave them a late scare. He also missed a great chance when the score was 1-0.

7.23pm BST

Peep peep! Spurs divest themselves of the Premier League Crisis Baton™ with an important win at the Amex Stadium.

7.23pm BST

90+4 min Knockaert’s curling shot from 20 yards is saved by the plunging Gazzaniga! That was a decent chance for an improbable equaliser.

7.22pm BST

Brighton go straight down the other end, where Knockaert comes inside Rose and leathers a curling shot into the far corner. That’s a brilliant finish.

7.21pm BST

90+3 min Ryan makes his third save from Kane, this time with his feet, and then...

7.20pm BST

90+1 min Montoya’s bobbling long-range volley is comfortably held by Gazzaniga. He looked a bit iffy on corners but has otherwise had a good night, and he made that vital save from Knockaert at 1-0.

7.18pm BST

89 min The match is petering out. Spurs have been cruising since the second goal, and Kane has suddenly come to life. He moves into the area, shifts the ball away from Propper and hits another fierce shot that is shovelled behind by Ryan.

7.16pm BST

87 min Kane makes room in a congested area to blast a shot that is a bit too straight and blocked by Ryan. That was Kane at his best, like travelling back in time to, er, February 2018.

7.13pm BST

84 min The second goal has deflated Brighton, who played so well for large parts of the second half. Dunk has a cut mouth after a clash with Lamela, who held him off with a straight arm.

7.09pm BST

80 min Harry Kane wears No10, and he has played like one for much of tonight. That was a problem during the World Cup, too. He’s a very good No10, don’t get me wrong, but he’s a great No9.

7.08pm BST

79 min Brighton make their final change, with Jurgen Locadia replacing Yves Bissouma. That means a switch to 4-4-2.

7.06pm BST

78 min Dele Alli replaces Lucas Moura.

7.06pm BST

The move started with a crisp, Koemanic pass from Dier into Lamela on the halfway line. He moved it onto Moura, who pushed it down the line to Rose. His low cutback was perfect for Lamela, who arrived late in the box and steered a precise first-time shot into the far corner.

7.05pm BST

Spurs clinch the points with a gorgeous team goal.

7.04pm BST

76 min Trippier plays a short corner to Moura, whose stinging shot hits Kayal.

7.02pm BST

74 min Bissouma is booked for a clumsy foul on Rose.

7.02pm BST

73 min Brighton make another change, with Ali Jahanbakhsh replacing the excellent Solly March.

7.01pm BST

73 min Knockaert’s outswinging corner is headed over by Dunk, under pressure from Dier. Again Dier had hold of his shirt, though penalties are rarely given in those circumstances.

7.01pm BST

72 min This is an important 20 minutes for Spurs, who could get a bit of a complex if they lose another 1-0 lead.

6.57pm BST

69 min That could have been a penalty for Brighton in the 65th minute. Dier had a good handful of a Brighton shirt, Dunk’s I think, though the gesture was reciprocated so I suppose it could have gone either way.

6.56pm BST

68 min “What’s the largest number of top-flight teams to play in green in a season?” asks Daniel Friedman. “In a week? Brighton last week, Watford this morning, Spurs this afternoon. None of whom have green on their team colours.”

Sounds like one for The Knowledge. From memory there were a few green away kits (or at least kits with green bits) in 1994-95: Liverpool, Leeds, Villa.

6.56pm BST

67 min Spurs make a change, with Erik Lamela replacing Son.

6.56pm BST

66 min: Knockaert misses a sitter! He was found by Kayal, who bumped Trippier off the ball and then slipped an angled pass into the area. Knockaert danced infield, past the covering Alderweireld, only to sidefoot tamely at Gazzaniga from eight yards.

6.55pm BST

65 min This is a fine spell for Brighton. March spins behind Trippier, surges into the area and tries to cut the ball back to Knoackert. Alderweireld puts it behind for a corner, which leads to a big penalty appeal after an impromptu Royal Rumble on the six-yard line. I’ll be honest: I’ve not a solitary clue what happened there, but we should see a replay soon.

6.54pm BST

64 min Brighton have a goal disallowed for offside against Duffy. A corner was punched unconvincingly by Gazzaniga, and when the ball came back in it was headed into the net. Duffy was definitely offside, but I’m not certain he got the touch - it may have been Dunk.

6.53pm BST

63 min A corner is half cleared to March, whose long-range shot deflects off Son and spins onto the roof of the net. Gazzaniga was at full stretch to his left.

6.50pm BST

62 min Kayal is booked for something or other.

6.50pm BST

61 min Bissouma plays a neat one-two with Propper and slides a lovely pass between Vertonghen and Rose to find Knockaert. His first touch isn’t quite heavy enough, however, and that allows Rose to scarper back and make a vital interception.

6.48pm BST

59 min Duffy is back on the field and looks fine to continue.

6.47pm BST

58 min Rose dances into the area and unexpectedly changes direction to get away from Montoya, who makes an excellent recovery tackle. Duffy makes an equally good follow-up challenge on Rose and injures himself in the process. He’s receiving treatment.

6.44pm BST

55 min It’s pouring down, as it has been throughout the match. The pitch is still immaculate, though, and Eriksen can’t blame it when slams a shot on the turn into orbit from Moura’s deflected cross.

6.43pm BST

53 min Brighton’s more attacking approach means there is room for Spurs to play. Moura feeds the ball to Eriksen, who uses the overlapping Rose by not using him. Instead he moves onto his right foot, 25 yards out, and whips a curling shot that just misses the top corner.

6.39pm BST

51 min Knockaert’s curling corner is claimed at the second attempt by Gazzaniga.

6.38pm BST

50 min Knockaert’s free-kick is headed over his own bar by Vertonghen, under pressure from Murray.

6.38pm BST

49 min Brighton have started the second half with much greater intent. March robs Trippier, who pulls him back and is booked.

6.35pm BST

47 min Duffy drives a brilliant crossfield pass out to the right to find Knockaert. He teases Rose and hits a cross that just eludes the stretching March at the far post.

6.34pm BST

46 min Peep peep! Brighton get the second half under way.

6.18pm BST

Half-time reading

6.18pm BST

Peep peep! That was like a training session: Brighton defence versus Spurs attack. Brighton were doing pretty darn well until Glenn Murray’s silly handball gave Harry Kane the chance to quench his goal thirst.

6.16pm BST

45 min Two minutes of added time.

6.13pm BST

43 min There are boos all round the ground, but it was an excellent and brave decision from Chris Kavanagh. Murray jumped with his arms in the air like he just don’t care (for conventional perceptions of what constitutes handball). It hit his left arm and that was that.

6.12pm BST

Harry Kane blasts the penalty to his left, with Ryan going the other way. It was an emphatic finish. He’s scored a goal in September!

6.11pm BST

41 min It’s a good decision, and a stupid piece of play from Murray.

6.11pm BST

41 min Trippier hits the free-kick into the wall - but a penalty has been given for handball!

6.10pm BST

39 min Kane is fouled just outside the area by Bong. The free-kick is to the right of centre, so ostensibly better for a left-footer. But I think Eriksen might hit this.

6.09pm BST

37 min See 23 min. And 29 min.

6.05pm BST

34 min Spurs are moving the ball a bit too slowly, which is allowing Brighton to maintain their defensive shape. Knockaert leads a Brighton counter-attack, curling in a cross from the right that drifts behind for a goalkick. I think Brighton had only Murray in the box against four defenders.

6.01pm BST

31 min There are two ways of looking at this game. Spurs will say they have been much the better team and deserve to be ahead; Brighton will say it’s been sterile domination and Mat Ryan has only had one save to make.

6.00pm BST

29 min Son moves infield confidently, draws back his right foot... and splatters the ball into a different postcode.

5.59pm BST

29 min Spurs are really missing Vincent Janssen, end of.

5.58pm BST

28 min Spurs have had 78 per cent possession so far.

5.56pm BST

25 min Brighton’s work-rate and defensive organisation are admirable, exemplified by Knockaert’s determined dispossession of Lucas Moura a moment ago.

5.54pm BST

24 min Eriksen is fortunate not to be booked for a cynical foul on the breaking Montoya.

5.53pm BST

23 min Spurs are playing some neat football, but - strange to say about a team with Harry Kane in it - haven’t had much of a cutting edge.

5.51pm BST

21 min The popular Stephens is applauded off the field, to be replaced by Beram Kayal.

5.50pm BST

20 min Dale Stephens is struggling with what appears to be a hamstring injury.

5.49pm BST

18 min Lovely play from Spurs. Kane finds Rose, who fizzes a low first-time cross into the area. It comes to Son, whose shot on the run is crucially blocked by Big Narstie’s favourite footballer.

5.46pm BST

16 min A good little spell for Brighton. Knockaert is fouled on the right by Rose, but overhits the free-kick.

5.45pm BST

15 min Ah, turns out Dunk was unmarked was because Stephens put Rose in a wrestling hold off the ball.

5.44pm BST

14 min A long free-kick finds the strangely unmarked Dunk, who takes the ball down nicely on his chest - and then rakes a half-volley straight out for a throw-in.

5.43pm BST

12 min Son drives wide from 25 yards. Tottenham are playing nicely now, moving the ball with the rhythmic purpose that has made them so watchable in the last few years.

5.41pm BST

10 min Trippier’s near-post corner is flashed towards goal by the head of Alderweireld, and Ryan leaps to his right to make a superb save. The ball loops up towards Vertonghen, who is under a lot of pressure and can’t guide his header on target.

5.40pm BST

9 min Spurs keep the ball for an age before the influential Trippier’s cross is deflected behind for a corner.

5.37pm BST

7 min Nothing much to report so far. Spurs have had more of the ball but the game hasn’t really taken shape.

5.36pm BST

5 min Spurs are zipping the ball around on the moist surface. It’s surely worth testing the keepers from distance as handling won’t be easy.

5.32pm BST

2 min Dier drives a nice long pass down the right for Trippier, whose deflected cross is headed behind by Stephens. Trippier takes the corner short to Lucas Moura, who slaps his cross straight at Knockaert.

5.31pm BST

1 min Peep peep! Spurs get things under way at the Amex Stadium, where it is teeming down.

5.27pm BST

5.16pm BST

Mauricio Pochettino speaks! “Vorm suffered a problem with his knee during training. It would have been a risk to start with Dele Alli but we are happy he is on the bench.”

5.14pm BST

Everyone at the Club is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of one of our own, Chas Hodges. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/AMB7pWHUa4

4.41pm BST

Pre-match reading

4.37pm BST

The 3pm kick-offs are into the final 10 minutes. Wolves are drawing 1-1 at Old Trafford, while Liverpool and Manchester City are cruising to victory.

4.34pm BST

Brighton (4-1-4-1) Ryan; Montoya, Duffy, Dunk, Bong; Stephens; Knockaert, Propper, Bissouma, March; Murray.
Substitutes: Button, Balogun, Bernardo, Kayal, Locadia, Andone, Jahanbakhsh.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1) Gazzaniga; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Dier, Dembele; Moura, Eriksen, Son; Kane.
Substitutes: Whiteman, Sanchez, Aurier, Winks, Lamela, Wanyama, Alli.

4.22pm BST

Tottenham have won something! Alas, it’s the Premier League Crisis Baton™, passed each week to the team that a hysterical media deems to be in crisis. Spurs have lost three games in a row, all narrowly, two of them to superpowers of world football. Disaster! It’s the opinion of this narrator that almost all of their problems could be solved by giving Harry Kane a month off, but it takes a brave manager to do that when he’s holding the Crisis Baton.

Football is a perception industry as well as a results business, and Spurs really can’t afford a fourth consecutive defeat today. Brighton is a tricky place to go – they’ve lost only four home games since returning to the Premier League – and Spurs drew 1-1 here in April. In the circumstances, they’d probably take that today.

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Published on September 22, 2018 11:38

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