Rob Smyth's Blog, page 91
April 18, 2021
Arsenal 1-1 Fulham: Premier League – as it happened
Eddie Nketiah scored in the seventh minute of added time to shatter Fulham, who were on course for a vital win after Josh Maja’s penalty
3.49pm BST
Nick Ames has filed his match report, so I’ll leave you with that. You can even have your say on VAR BTL! Thanks for your company and emails, commiserations to our Fulham-supporting regulars. Bye.
Related: Fulham denied victory at Arsenal by last-gasp Eddie Nketiah equaliser
3.32pm BST
More more more
Related: Rangers v Celtic: Scottish Cup last-16 – live!
Related: Manchester United v Burnley: Premier League – live!
3.29pm BST
Fulham’s players look pretty crestfallen. Scott Parker smiles wryly, in a bugger-my-luck kind of way, then goes to chat with the referee. Seven minutes of added time did feel like a lot. That late Nketiah goal means that Fulham are six points off safety having played two games more than Burnley and Brighton. They need snookers.
3.28pm BST
Peep peep!
3.27pm BST
90+9 min Fulham can have no complaints about the goal, but they might want to know where seven minutes of added time came from.
3.27pm BST
GOAL GIVEN!
3.27pm BST
Holding was in an offside position, but I’m not sure he interfered with play.
3.26pm BST
VAR is checking for offside! I don’t think this will be ruled out.
3.26pm BST
Saka’s corner from the left was headed on at the near post by the goalkeeper Ryan. It ran across the area to Ceballos, whose deflected shot was brilliantly saved at full stretch by Areola. But all he could do was push the ball towards Nketiah, who shinned it into the empty net from two yards.
3.25pm BST
A shattering blow for Fulham.
3.25pm BST
90+6 min Another corner to Arsenal, conceded needlessly by Decordova-Reid. Mat Ryan comes forward...
3.24pm BST
90+6 min Fulham are 90 seconds away from a massive victory.
3.23pm BST
90+5 min: Chance for Arsenal! Xhaka slides a penetrative pass inside the right-back to Saka. He controls the ball on the stretch and cuts it back to Nketiah, whose close-range shot is brilliantly blocked by Reed. Great defending.
3.22pm BST
90+4 min Another corner to Arsenal. If Fulham concede now, it will shatter them. Ceballos swings the corner towards the far post, where Areola claims the ball confidently. He’s been very assured today.
3.21pm BST
90+2 min When a left-wing cross is headed up in the air, Smith Rowe arrives beyond the far post and heads the ball back across the six-yard box. Robinson clears. Smith Rowe might have gone for goal there.
3.19pm BST
90+1 min There will be seven minutes of added time.
3.19pm BST
90 min: Good save from Areola! Nketiah lays the ball off to Martinelli in the D. He scurries to the left, away from a couple of defenders, and cracks a left-footed shot that is blocked at the near post by Areola. His positioning was excellent.
3.17pm BST
88 min Saka, the one Arsenal attacker who has turned up, cuts infield from the right and floats a beautiful curling shot towards the top corner on the far side. It beats Areola, flying desperately across his line, and drifts just wide.
3.16pm BST
87 min This has been a pretty wretched performance from Arsenal. They’ve been slightly better since going behind, but Areola has only had a couple of saves to make all games.
3.15pm BST
86 min “Apparently Fulham have never won away at Arsenal,” says Charles Antaki. “It’s losing that kind of record that really eats away at fans, seeing long-standing parts of their identity as a dominant club frittered away in such timid, powder-puff style.”
You should try losing at home to Fenerbahce.
3.14pm BST
85 min Saka’s pass is miscontrolled by Nketiah on the edge of the area. That was half a chance, though he had very little margin for error with the touch.
3.13pm BST
84 min Fulham have brought on Joe Bryan for Cavaleiro, which means a switch to a back five.
3.11pm BST
83 min Areola takes the opportunity to waste a bit of time after being fouled.
3.10pm BST
82 min A wicked cross from Saka on the right is put behind by the stretching Andersen. That was brilliant defending because there were two Arsenal players behind him. Saka takes the corner and Areola punches clear.
3.09pm BST
80 min Fulham are ten minutes away from their first ever win away to Arsenal.
3.07pm BST
79 min Saka floats a nice long pass towards Nketiah, who controls it on the run but lofts over the bar under pressure from Andersen. A half chance at best.
3.07pm BST
78 min Martinelli accidentally kicks Lemina up the trousers. I’m surprised he wasn’t booked for that.
3.05pm BST
77 min “I was touched by Gary Naylor’s O-level story,” says Ian Copestake, “and have duly reported him to the authorities.”
3.05pm BST
76 min Another Fulham substitution: Ruben Loftus-Cheek replaces the goalscorer Maja.
3.04pm BST
75 min I didn’t give Areola enough credit for that save. Replays suggest he knew plenty about it - he instinctively flicked his left leg towards the ball to block it.
3.03pm BST
74 min “Yes, football is a cesspit,” says Phil Crockford. “But surely one thing that helps with the TMO being accepted is that we hear, in real time, the referee and the TMO discuss the incident, so we know exactly what is happening and why - that surely would help VAR.”
I’m not sure it would. I fear the minutiae of the discussion would be twisted to facilitate even more whinging and moaning.
3.02pm BST
73 min Arsenal have played with much greater urgency since going behind. Teams do that so often, as if it hadn’t occurred them to attack with intensity when it’s 0-0.
3.01pm BST
71 min: How did Arsenal not score there?! Martinelli went round Areola on the right of the area. The angle was too tight to shoot so he turned and lofted a cross towards Pepe at the far post. He was barely two yards out when he headed towards goal, but Areola had scampered back across his line and made a vital save with his left leg. I’m not sure how much he knew about it, not that he’ll care.
2.58pm BST
70 min Lacazette limps off to be replaced by Eddie Nketiah.
2.58pm BST
69 min Fulham bring on Harrison Reed for Ademola Lookman.
2.57pm BST
69 min Oh dear, I think Lacazette has done his hamstring. He pulled up and signalled to the bench immediately. That’s a big blow - not so much today, but with the Europa League semi-final imminent.
2.56pm BST
68 min A double change for Arsenal: Nicolas Pepe and Thomas Partey replace Bellerin and Elneny.
2.56pm BST
67 min Martinelli’s cross is headed just wide by Bellerin at the far post. It wasn’t the most convincing header, in truth - he looked like a schoolkid heading the ball for the first time. I suspect Areola had it covered anyway.
2.55pm BST
67 min If Fulham win here, they’ll be four points behind Burnley and Brighton, albeit having played two games more. One of Burnley’s games in hand is at Old Trafford this afternoon.
2.54pm BST
66 min “It’s interesting that the use of the TMO in rugby union has not caused as much controversy as VAR even though decisions can take even longer,” says Richard Hirst. “Maybe it’s because everybody sees the replays on the big screen, and the final decision is the referee’s, not the men in suits.”
Surely the main reason is that there is much greater respect for authority, among players and supporters, and much less entitlement. Let’s be honest, football is a cesspit.
2.53pm BST
65 min Lacazette’s free-kick hits the wall.
2.52pm BST
64 min Lacazette is fouled on the edge of the D, and he wants to take the free-kick himself. It was actually Decordova-Reid who was booked a few minutes ago, not Anguissa.
2.51pm BST
61 min Anguissa is booked for something or other.
2.49pm BST
For a second I thought he’d JaapStammed it, but it rippled the roof of the net and Fulham are half an hour away from their first ever victory away to Arsenal. Ever. Ever.
2.48pm BST
Josh Maja crashes the penalty high into the net!
2.47pm BST
PENALTY GIVEN! Yer man was onside, just, and the original decision will stand. What a chance this is for Fulham.
Ademola Lookman will take it.
2.46pm BST
Lemina anticipated the contact from Gabriel and started to jump. I think it was a foul; it certainly wasn’t a clear and obvious error. But there might also have been an offside in the build up. Oh what fun we have.
2.45pm BST
PENALTY TO FULHAM! Gabriel makes a moronic challenge on Lemina, and Fulham have a penalty. It’s being checked by VAR.
2.44pm BST
55 min Saka hits the outside of the near post with (I think) a mishit cross. Areola had it covered, so it wasn’t quite as exciting as it sounded.
2.42pm BST
54 min Xhaka is going to continue.
2.42pm BST
53 min “Just to keep rubbing my point in,” says Mark Uribe, “the answer to Colum Farrelly is to make the offside rule that the attacker’s whole torso must be in front of the defender’s.”
Even if they score with the foot?
2.41pm BST
52 min Decordova-Reid slips and collides with Xhaka, leaving both men on the floor in pain. It looked like a clash of knees. Xhaka is really struggling.
2.39pm BST
50 min “How do they decide the exact micro-second that the ball was played?” says Andrew. “We always get shown the offside toenail, but the boot making the pass must be in contact with the ball for a certain amount of time. We never see that.”
It’s almost as if they rushed the whole thing through for the last World Cup without trialling it properly!
2.38pm BST
49 min Andersen clatters Xhaka and is booked.
2.36pm BST
47 min “Dump VAR and have two assistants at each end,” says Mick Shawyer. “Both agree and it’s easy. One flag up and one down they have a discussion. Referee has the final word.”
We’re stuck with VAR. If nothing else, it has changed the culture around accepting incorrect decisions too much for it to ever be put back in its box, so we need to find a way to make it be slightly less soul-destroying. I still think that, on offside, there should be a grey area, the equivalent of umpire’s call in cricket.
2.35pm BST
46 min A half chance from Lacazette, who drags a low shot wide from the edge of the D.
2.34pm BST
46 min Peep peep! Fulham begin the second half.
2.30pm BST
“Is there any way,” says Ian Copestake, “we can link VAR to both Brexit and racism?”
And the OCG. It’s all connected.
2.25pm BST
“When I did my O Levels (bear with me) there were nine of them, most comprising two separate exams,” says Gary Naylor. “By the last couple, I was concentrating for ten minutes and staring out of the window for ten minutes - repeated for two hours. The brain had been pummelled enough and needed a break - I could do the stuff, but I also couldn’t do the stuff, not then anyway. That’s how too many teams are playing now.”
At least they’ll get a nice long break this su-oh.
2.22pm BST
“Spurs supporter here just adding to the VAR-is-daft contingent,” says Colum Farrelly. “A few millimetres out of line in a dynamic sport means nothing at all and cannot be a clear and obvious error. That was a decent goal.”
Saka gained no advantage at all having his big toe in front of the defender’s. I don’t know what the answer is, because it’s too late to put VAR back in its box, but it certainly isn’t this soul-crushing shambles.
2.19pm BST
Half time chitchat
“After these farcical decisions, I’m voting early with my feet and going out to walk the dog,” says Justin Kavanagh. “It’ll be more entertaining than watching these quantity surveyors in refs’ outfits playing with their computers. Enjoy the game.”
2.18pm BST
Let us never speak of that first half again.
2.17pm BST
45+1 min Arsenal have another goal disallowed, though this one was more straightforward. Smith Rowe, in an offside position, missed a good chance just before Xhaka’s low cross hit Andersen and went into the net.
2.16pm BST
45 min There will be 48 years of added time.
2.15pm BST
44 min The game has been so crap that it’s easy to lose sight of how important this is for Fulham. The second half is their world entire; if they can pinch a win, with home games against Burnley and Newcastle to come, they will have renewed hope.
2.12pm BST
42 min “Look, Rob,” says Ian Copestake, “how many times have I got to tell you: Arsenal are a sophisticated team and the lack of energy and intent you perceive is ironic.”
‘Like ray-ay-ain on your wedding day’ ironic?
2.12pm BST
Saka was offside by a whisker. Scott Parker hearts VAR again.
2.11pm BST
Saka found Bellerin, whose deep cross was headed emphatically past Areola by Dani Ceballos. They’re checking the offside - it’s a matter of millimetres.
2.11pm BST
Hang on, I think Saka is offside in the build up.
2.10pm BST
Glory be, a goal!
2.10pm BST
39 min The odd thing about this first half is that both teams have pressed vigorously, but then as soon as they get the ball everything slows down.
2.08pm BST
38 min “One, being on the pitch after the game – whether there is a ruling against that I have no idea, but he had no right to be there. Two, dressed in the manner in which he was dressed. Three, the pictures in the national papers verify the aggression he was showing towards players and staff after the game.”
Related: Premier League: Hull City to fight on over 'disgraceful' Cesc Fábregas
2.06pm BST
35 min The pace of the game is so slow. I suppose Fulham are playing the long game, but I’ve been surprised by Arsenal’s lack of energy and intent.
2.04pm BST
34 min “In 20 years’ time, FIFA marketing types will have figured out a way to hold a one-minute vote on VAR offside calls,” says Justin Kavanagh. “Crowd-sourced refereeing: It won’t be fair; it won’t be football; but money talks.”
As if it’ll take 20 years.
2.02pm BST
32 min Not that Fulham will care if they get a mucky 1-0 win. And after a difficult start, they have had an even share of the game in the last 20 minutes or so.
2.02pm BST
31 min This is muck.
2.01pm BST
30 min Saka zips past Decordova-Reid and then falls over on the edge of the area. Craig Pawson gives a goalkick. I don’t think it was a foul and it was probably outside the area anyway.
1.57pm BST
27 min A classic this is not. Yet.
1.56pm BST
24 min “Is Scott Parker the worst dressed ‘well dressed’ manager in Premier League history?” asks Sean Orlowicz.
Come on now, show some respect.
1.54pm BST
22 min At the other end, Smith Rowe thrashes over the bar from 22 yards. A decent effort.
1.53pm BST
22 min “Come on, then,” says Norrie Hernon. “Let’s fix VAR offsides. Any part is level is onside. This would both remove a lot of the fractional calls and restore a century-old cardinal rule that has somehow been lost in all of this: give the attacking team the advantage. With VAR I’d have something like tennis where each team has one or two chances to review. This would both restore agency to those on the pitch and, crucially, still ensure those egregious injustices didn’t occur.”
I like the principle of having one or two challenges – it works well in cricket – but I’m not sure you can do it in a game as unstructured as football. Who makes the decision? How do you stop somebody on the sideline cheating by looking at a replay?
1.52pm BST
21 min: Just wide from Maja! Fulham almost take the lead out of nothing. Decordova-Reid’s deflected long-range shot fell kindly for Maja, whose snapshot took another deflection and dribbled just past the near post. Ryan was wrongfooted and wouldn’t have saved it.
1.49pm BST
19 min Both teams are passing the ball far too slowly, and mostly in the middle third of the pitch.
1.46pm BST
15 min Fulham have had muych more of the ball in the last few minutes. I don’t know what else to tell you, because very little is happening the noo.
1.42pm BST
11 min Good pressing from Fulham, with Lemina stealing the ball just outside the Arsenal area and giving it to Lookman on the left. He wriggles through a couple of challenges but then overruns the ball.
1.40pm BST
10 min This looks a bit ominous for Fulham, who have spent the first 10 minutes chasing leather.
1.38pm BST
7 min: Good save from Areola! Smith Rowe broke into the area from the right, got to the byline and cut the ball back towards the near post. Martinelli, running away from goal, screwed a shot on the turn that was pushed away to his left by the diving Areola.
1.35pm BST
4 min Arsenal have made a confident, relaxed start. Fulham haven’t really got into the game yet.
1.33pm BST
1 min: Arsenal almost score after 30 seconds! Lacazette, 25 yards out, lobbed a lovely short pass over the defence towards Martinelli. He flicked it past Areola and just wide of the far post. He might have been offside, but we’ll never know because he didn’t score so the VAR geometry department weren’t called into action.
1.31pm BST
1 min Peep peep! Arsenal kick off from left to right.
1.30pm BST
It’s a gorgeous, sunny afternoon in north London. The players on both sides have gathered round the centre circle to pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh.
1.21pm BST
“Hi Rob,” says Rick Harris. “While Charles Antaki is right to mention the Arsenal soap opera with a different plot line every week it seems, surely the imminent return of fans to stadiums begs the question ‘Will we see the return of Gunnersaurus?’”
I do hope so. He’s got a Covid passport and everything.
1.15pm BST
“Hi Rob,” says Richard Hirst. “Thanks to Charles Antaki for the consoling thought that we only have one thing to worry about, but for some strange reason I’d rather be in Arsenal’s position than ours!”
1.12pm BST
“Interesting piece on Arsenal being too reliant on Messers Saka and Smith-Rowe,” says Bill Hargreaves. “Of course this isn’t entirely desirable, but it might work in favour of the Woolwich yet, I think. As we know, the average age of the combat soldier in Vietnam was n-n-n-n-nineteen. This is because they have less perception of anxiety, and I suspect that Emile and Bukaya play with less fear than their colleagues. Now if this could take a little heat from the likes of Pepe and Laca, Partey and Ceballos, as well as putting the old farts to shame and thereby motivating them, then more power to their elbows. Mikel must be thinking to himself ‘It didn’t look as hard as this when Pep did it?’”
Inheriting Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Sergio Aguero probably helps. I doubt it’ll ever happen, but I’d love Guardiola to take over a limited squad. It’d be fascinating to see whether he could, for example, make a silk purse out of David Luiz and Granit Xhaka.
1.08pm BST
“This will hardly be any comfort to Fulham fans, but has any club this season been as prone to psychodrama as Arsenal?” says Charles Antaki. “Of course Fulham fans are worried about relegation, but at least that is a single, fixed, uncontentious issue they can all rally around. Whereas, barring two or three players, and not excluding the manager, the board, the goalkeeping coach and the mascot, Arsenal fans have had the great luxury of being able to worry themselves to death over pretty well anybody and anything they like.”
12.39pm BST
Pre-match reading
Related: Arsenal are too reliant on Saka and Smith Rowe, admits Mikel Arteta
12.39pm BST
Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Ryan; Bellerin, Holding, Gabriel, Xhaka; Elneny, Ceballos; Saka, Smith Rowe, Martinelli; Lacazette.
Substitutes: Leno, Cedric, Chambers, Pablo Mari, Partey, Willian, Pepe, Nelson, Nketiah.
Fulham (4-2-3-1) Areola; Aina, Andersen, Tosin, Robinson; Lemina, Anguissa; Decordova-Reid, Cavaleiro, Lookman; Maja.
Substitutes: Fabri, Hector, Odoi, Ream, Bryan, Loftus-Cheek, Reed, Onomah, Mitrovic.
10.28am BST
Hello. Most of the time, the teams fighting relegation see games against the Big Six as a free hit, with any points an unexpected bonus. Fulham have exhausted that luxury. They are seven points off safety with six games to go, so it’s now or never if they want to produce a bit of the old escapology. Fulham’s run-in includes trips to Arsenal today, then Chelsea and Manchester United. If they are to have a realistic chance of staying up, they need to win four of those six matches.
It’s not entirely beyond the realms. Fulham have done well in the tougher away games this season – they won at Liverpool, Leicester and Everton and drew at Spurs. And this isn’t the worst time to play Arsenal, who are going nowhere in the league and might still be high on their spectacular win in Prague on Thursday.
Continue reading...
April 15, 2021
Robinson shines for Sussex as 18 wickets fall at Chelmsford
Wickets tumbled on a dramatic first day between Essex and Durham, while Sussex’s Ollie Robinson gave the England selectors another nudge
7.51pm BST
Eighteen wickets fell on a wild first day at Chelmsford. The green, green grass of home was no comfort to the champions Essex while they were being skittled for 96 by Durham. The visitors attacked with scalpel and sledgehammer: Chris Rushworth bowled with surgical precision to take three for 13, while Brydon Carse (three for 37) put the wind up the Essex batsmen in a couple of ferocious spells.
Durham were only one wicket down when they went into the lead – but then, on a pitch that looked custom-made for the seamers, Essex’s spinners took a shortcut through the middle order. Durham finished on a precarious 144 for eight. Almost 70% of those runs by Scott Borthwick, who scored his first century for Durham, and an extraordinary innings on such a low-scoring day.
7.23pm BST
Group 1
7.23pm BST
A visual representation of what your maiden ton for your home County means...@SamEvans97
#runningfoxes | #ANewBreed | #AcademyOfCricket pic.twitter.com/F4HNB1idM7
6.45pm BST
Outstanding, @Borthwick16! #ForTheNorth pic.twitter.com/zkORArcg9A
6.39pm BST
Was hoping for the prospect of Stuart Broad, who owns a pub, bowling to Rob Yates, who is presumably named after a wine bar. But the latter didn’t face the first over and is now out first ball trying to cut a loosener from Zak Chappell and edging to a diving Tom Moores behind the stumps.
Yates had moved up to open with Will Rhodes in place of Dom Sibley, whose status we’re trying to ascertain. He did spend some time off the field after tea but information limited. Warwickshire four for one after two overs in reply to Nottinghamshire’s 273 all out.
6.29pm BST
That’s some innings, 100 not out in a score of 141 for five. It’s his first century for Durham since 2016, and a pretty emotional one by the sound of things.
6.07pm BST
Shot of the day (probably)
That is glorious @mattcritchley96
The @DerbyshireCCC all-rounder has just gone to his
Watch LIVE STREAMS: https://t.co/SyebMiubg3 pic.twitter.com/dVAU3OYGdY
5.57pm BST
The collapse is on at Chelmsford, where Durham have slipped from 98 for one to 114 for four. Sam Cook and Simon Harmer have two wickets apiece; Scott Borthwick is still there on 79.
5.50pm BST
It’s been a brilliant start to the season for Derbyshire’s Matt Critchley: 64 and 83 against Warwickshire and now a rapid hundred against Worcestershire. He’s faced 138 balls and hit 10 fours. Oh, and Derbyshire are 327 for four.
5.29pm BST
WICKET! Durham 98-2 (Young c Lawrence b Harmer 24) Ah, Will Young has gone, caught at leg slip off the inevitable Simon Harmer. Durham lead by two.
5.28pm BST
And they still have nine wickets remaining. Scott Borthwick is flying: he has made 65 from 75 balls, dominating a partnership of 87 with Will Young. Borthwick made 0 and 1 on his second Durham debut last week.
5.18pm BST
An excellent half-century from Liam Patterson-White at chilly Trent Bridge, coming from 82 balls over two hours at the crease. Arrived with the score on 119 for six and has pushed Nottinghamshire towards a more respectable 231 for eight in the 74th over of this elongated day.
The 22-year-old looks a very competent left-hander and a gusty one too. He’s been struck on the body by Olly Stone and hit in the head by Tim Bresnan but he’s held firm in the main and played some nice drives through the off-side. Warwickshire getting a little frustrated out there.
5.13pm BST
Glamorgan 285 all out v Sussex The young offspinner Jack Carson has hurried through the Glamorgan tail, taking three for 14 in seven overs. His near namesake Kiran Carlson was left stranded on 127 not out.
5.03pm BST
Group 1
5.01pm BST
Three for Kerrigan! Dane Vilas has gone, LBW for 26, and Simon Kerrigan’s soul is a little purer than it was this morning.
79.3 | KerrAGAIN!
Traps Vilas bang in front to claim his third of the innings.
Lancashire 212/6. pic.twitter.com/0D5H3mcolz
4.54pm BST
A second wicket for Simon Kerrigan at Lancashire, and what a gorgeous bit of bowling it was.
77.2 | Another for Kerrigan!
Lovely bowling, beats an advancing Jones and Rossington's lightning hands do the rest.
Lancashire 205/5. pic.twitter.com/BVvf5ilKLt
4.47pm BST
Here’s more from Ali on Broad’s biffoonery
Stuart Broad rolled out some of the hits during a 19-ball 21, with a couple of thrashed fours through the offside and a couple more down to fine leg off the inside edge. But, alas, he's gone thanks to a simple edge to slip off Rhodes, who now has 4-50. Notts 210-8.
4.45pm BST
Stuart Broad flogged a 19-ball 21 for Notts, but he’s gone now to Will Rhodes. That’s Rhodes’ fourth wicket, and Notts are 214 for eight.
4.42pm BST
Glamorgan (270-7) v Sussex
An important wicket just after tea! @SMeaker18 has his first of the match as Dan Douthwaite is caught at cover by @TomClark2702. [266-7] #gosbts pic.twitter.com/9yLaOCtfv5
4.40pm BST
Essex 96 all out v Durham 42-1 Looks like Durham are plodding along pretty nicely at Chelmsford. Will Young has 13 from 50 balls, Scott Borthwick 20 from 35.
4.36pm BST
Rhodes sends off stump flying
It brings Stuart Broad to the crease...
Watch LIVE here https://t.co/SyebMiubg3 pic.twitter.com/6GnYPeB4P2
4.31pm BST
Group 1
4.09pm BST
I’m going to take a short tea break. I’ll update the blog less frequently when I return, as I need to do the paper round-up and I’ve never done it before and I’m slightly scored, but I’ll try to flag up any milestones, collapses or Darren Stevens wickets. You don’t need me, anyway: you’ve created possibly the only BTL community on the internet that doesn’t require a single bit of moderation or management.
4.01pm BST
Nottinghamshire v Warwickshire
A solid fightback from Tom Moores and Liam Patterson-White before tea, both men unbeaten on 26 with Nottinghamshire 176 for six. Moores has a touch of the Moeen Ali about the way he bats; a very fluid left-hander who looks so relaxed and easy on the eye. Had Danny Briggs held a diving catch at mid-wicket when Moores was on six, Notts would be deeper in trouble but this pair have chiselled away competently since.
4.00pm BST
WICKET! Hampshire 196-6 (McManus b Sowter 4)
| WICKET FOR SOWTER!
McManus goes for 4
Hampshire 196/6
https://t.co/8PwNkjjTTC | https://t.co/88NHzekem8#OneMiddlesex
3.59pm BST
Tea: Glamorgan 247-6 The first hundred of the day has been scored just before tea at Cardiff by the promising Kiran Carlson. It’s his fifth first-class century and his first since April 2019. He’s hit 12 fours, faced 155 balls and, with help from David Lloyd and Dan Douthwaite, rescued Glamorgan from 23 for three against Sussex.
3.54pm BST
‘Look in the book’ department
☝️ | ANOTHER FOR FINN
Dawson hits it straight to Andersson at mid-wicket for 22
Hampshire 195/5 after 61 overs
https://t.co/8PwNkjjTTC | https://t.co/88NHzekem8#OneMiddlesex
3.54pm BST
WICKET! Yorkshire 240-6 (Tattersall c Stevens b Leaning 11) Jack Leaning has taken a wicket with his first ball of the day!
3.53pm BST
The afternoon session has flown by. The main story is still at Chelmsford, where Essex were rolled for 96 by Durham’s accomplished seam attack. As well as that 96, we’ve had individual scores of 97 (from Adam Lyth v Kent) and 98 (Leus du Plooy v Worcestershire), but no centuries yet. The best bowling performance has come from the superb Ollie Robinson, who has four for 41 for Sussex against Glamorgan.
These are the latest scores, with tea being taken in some of the games.
3.46pm BST
Glamorgan 226-6 v Sussex Kiran Carlson, who happily played second fiddle earlier in the day while David Lloyd was racing to 84, is now 92 not out at Cardiff.
3.44pm BST
A lovely moment, this. Simon Kerrigan strikes against his old county, straightening one sharply to trap Josh Bohannon LBW for a good 68.
61.3 | Kerrigan gets his reward! ☝️
Constant from the left-armer pressure pays off and Bohannon goes.
Lancashire 171/4. pic.twitter.com/KZq7GZLmH8
3.38pm BST
WICKET! Durham 11-1 (Lees c Wheater b Cook 5)
The eleventh wicket of the day at Chelsmford. Alex Lees edges a good delivery from Sam Cook through to the keeper, which takes Cook to an important milestone.
up for @samcook09 pic.twitter.com/sjr8b5QE2M
3.37pm BST
Essex 96 all out having won the toss and batted first. pic.twitter.com/S4aCRM6h2p
3.35pm BST
WICKET! Yorkshire 227-5 (Brook LBW b Cummins 54) v Kent Harry Brook has gone for a jaunty 54, trapped LBW by Miguel Cummins. That’s an important wicket for Cummins, who has had a slow start to the Championship season.
3.34pm BST
Leus du Plooy has fallen two short of a century! He was stuck in the nineties for more than 10 overs, and now he has been bowled by Brett d’Oliveira. So we still haven’t had a century today. Adam Lyth fell for 97 and now du Plooy has gone for 98.
3.31pm BST
Somerset 212-5 v Gloucestershire Somerset were struggling to put together a substantial partnership, ‘were’ being the operative word. Steven Davies (64) and Craig Overton (43 from 57 balls) have added 112 for the sixth wicket in less than 22 overs.
3.28pm BST
Group 1
3.23pm BST
Leus du Plooywatch He’s negotiating the nervous nineties through dot balls and singles, and needs two more for his century.
3.22pm BST
Lancashire have lost a third wicket against Northants. It didn’t, alas, fall to Simon Kerrigan but he is still bowling very nicely, with figures of 13.4-5-18-0. As for the wicket, it was Tom Taylor’s second of the day, Steven Croft caught behind for an 85-ball 26.
3.18pm BST
Play has resumed at the Oval, where Leicestershire have inched to 93 without loss. Make that 94. We could do this all day.
3.17pm BST
Nervous nineties department Derbyshire’s Leus du Plooy has turned into Leus du Plod. He was 88 not out from 133 balls; he’s now 97 from 159. But he’s still there, three away from a first-class century, and that puts him one up on us lot.
3.13pm BST
Brydon Carse completes a spectacular Durham bowling performance by taking the wicket of Sam Cook for 15. The champions Essex have been bowled out in double figures. Carse and Chris Rushworth took three wickets each, Ben Raine and Matt Salisbury shared the other four.
3.08pm BST
Sam Cook is inching Essex towards three figures at Chelmsford. He is 11 not out, Essex are 92 for nine against Durham.
2.59pm BST
Ollie Robinson (Sussex) has picked up a fourth wicket at Cardiff. Callum Taylor has gone for three and Glamorgan are in bother at 179 for six.
2.58pm BST
Play has resumed at Chelmsford. And, yep, another wicket has fallen: Essex are 82 for nine. Ben Allison is the man out, caught behind off Chris Rushworth for four.
2.55pm BST
“Peeling off the covers at the Oval and the rope is being whizzed around, hopefully not long before they are back on,” writes Jim Wallace from his Oval office. “Boring isn’t it, sitting in a box perspex watching men mess about with bits of tarpaulin in the drizzle?
Not for me I like it.”
2.54pm BST
Joe Clarke v Olly Stone part 2
... and now Joe Clarke falls for 29 after two hours at the crease, as Olly (fire and brim) Stone gets one to lift off the surface and find the edge of a cut shot. Looked a loose shot but fancy the extra pace and a bit of movement just as relevant. Stone loved it ... he doesn’t leap these days after injuring his snapping his ACL doing that a few seasons ago, but the celebration was still pretty wild. Notts 119 for six.
2.52pm BST
‘Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better’
| WICKET FOR ANDERSSON!
Vince caught by Eskinazi at first slip for 9
Hampshire 143/4 after 45 overs
https://t.co/8PwNkjjTTC | https://t.co/88NHzekem8#OneMiddlesex
2.51pm BST
Joe Clarke v Olly Stone, part 1
Notts 113-5 v Warks Well, India’s Hanuma Vihari is a popular man among his new Warwickshire team-mates, taking a superb catch over his shoulder at mid-wicket to dismiss Steve Mullaney. Search out the clip, it was a special piece of fielding from the debutant, who is not long out of quarantine. Mullaney falls for 31, having just been given a life on 26 when Dom Sibley, recently moved to first slip, grassed one after Tim Bresnan found the edge. Tom Moores joins Joe Clarke, who has just seen a huge appeal from Olly Stone for caught behind turned down. Clarke seemed to suggest it was forearm after Stone, who has picked up his pace this afternoon, fired one into the rib area.
2.50pm BST
Alliterative XI
“Here’s my final effort,” says Prasad Bhonsule:
2.47pm BST
WICKET! Hampshire 143-4 (Vince c Eskinazi b Andersson 9) The in-form James Vince didn’t last long: nine balls, two boundaries and then a windy woof outside off stump at Martin Andersson.
2.43pm BST
WICKET! Nottinghamshire 109-5 (Mullaney c Vihari b Rhodes 31)
This is a spectacular catch from Hanuma Vihari.
!
WHAT A CATCH.
Match Centre https://t.co/0efkMHnNAw
#YouBears | #NOTvWAR pic.twitter.com/N2y9LC101Y
2.41pm BST
Ollie Robinson (Sussex version) has grabbed a third wicket - all LBW - at Cardiff. Chris Cooke is out for 13 and Glamorgan are 174 for five. Sussex have also confirmed that Phil Salt has broken a bone in his foot.
Get well soon, @PhilSalt1
We've provided an update on the batsman's injury:
2.39pm BST
They were supposed to restart at the Kia Oval just over 10 minutes ago, but it started raining again so they’re still off the field. Leicestershire are 86 for none against Surrey.
2.36pm BST
Somerset (157-5) v Gloucestershire Steven Davies (42) and Craig Overton (17) have launched an impressive counter-attack, adding 47 at more than a run a ball.
2.33pm BST
WICKET! Hampshire 128-3 (Holland c Robson b Roland-Jones 64) Another wicket for Middlesex at the Ageas Bowl. Toby Roland-Jones has struck to end Ian Holland’s patient innings of 64. Sharp delivery too.
☝️ | WICKET FOR ROLAND-JONES
Holland is caught at second slip by Robson for 64
Hampshire 129/3 after 42 overs
https://t.co/8PwNkjjTTC | https://t.co/88NHzekem8#OneMiddlesex
2.23pm BST
Group 1
2.19pm BST
WICKET! Yorkshire 150-4 (Lyth c Robinson b Milnes 97) Kent are starting to chip away at Canterbury, and Adam Lyth has fallen three short of a century. That’s a second wicket for Matt Milnes and a fourth catch for the other very promising Ollie Robinson.
2.17pm BST
Lancashire (108-2) v Northants “Lovely to see Simon Kerrigan (still only 31!) bowling beautifully at Old Trafford for Northants,” says Gary Naylor. “The only disappointment is that there are no supporters in the ground to show their appreciation for a player whose reputation really should rest on that Championship season a decade ago and not on a couple of bad days at The Oval.”
It should, but it won’t, not in this life. “Please don’t confront me with my failures; I had not forgotten them.”
2.14pm BST
Derbyshire (145-2) v Worcestershire Leus du Plooy, who bagged a pair against Warwickshire in the opening Championship game, is making up for lost runs: he has raced to 75 not out at Derby.
2.12pm BST
The rain has returned and we're off the field again with Essex 81-8.#ESSvDUR
2.06pm BST
Surrey v Leicestershire: Bad light/rain stopped play
“Gah, just as I hit send the cloud equivalent of that great big spaceship from Independence Day rolled over and parked itself in Lambeth,” says Jim Wallace. “Now it is dark and the temperature has dropped by about 5 degrees. A couple of them could be due to the spectre of Colville though. I can see blue sky over to the east, Hipster-utsire, if you will, so hopefully we won’t be off for long. Li-chester’s Azad and Evans have looked very comfortable so far, they’ll be wanting to get back out there and bed in on this pitch.”
2.05pm BST
Somerset (110-5) v Gloucestershire Somerset can’t get a partnership going. George Bartlett was looking good but now he’s gone, LBW to Ryan Higgins for 22.
2.02pm BST
Yorkshire (143-3) v Kent The England captain Joe Root’s slow start to the season continues. He has gone for 11, caught behind off Matt Milnes for 11. How many did he get? Adam Lyth is still there, 10 away from a pulsating hundred.
1.57pm BST
Big breakthrough straight after lunch!
David Lloyd is out for an impressive 84, well caught at second slip by @George_Garton off the bowling of @Henry_Crocombe. [133-4] #gosbts pic.twitter.com/IDb0qv5Eif
1.57pm BST
Well I never. Simon Harmer has gone for a duck, caught in the slips of Ben Raine, and Essex have lost three wickets for two runs.
1.55pm BST
Lancashire (104-2) v Northants Alex Davies has been run out for a breezy 57 at Emirates Old Trafford.
Hampshire (86-2) v Middlesex And at the Ageas, Tom Alsop has been bounced out by Steven Finn.
| WICKET FOR FINNY!
Alsop is caught by Sowter for 19
Hampshire 77/2
https://t.co/8PwNkjjTTC | https://t.co/88NHzekem8#OneMiddlesex
1.52pm BST
Do you see what happens, Larry, when you play cricket in mid-April?
BAD LIGHT STOPS PLAY
It's very gloomy at The Kia Oval and the players are taken off by the umpires.
Leicestershire - 86/0 pic.twitter.com/1FNmcNXJgW
1.49pm BST
Unplayable adj.
unable to be played.
Salisburyyyy!
Lawrence gone. Essex 74/7#ForTheNorth pic.twitter.com/IWJ9UNtQxV
1.47pm BST
Leicestershire v Surrey
“Greetings from the Oval Rob,” writes Wisden Cricket Monthly’s Jim Wallace. “Leicestershire have made rather serene progress to reach 75-0 and the sun has started to shine. The ground staff are casting shadows across the outfield as they poke and prod, one chap has a very long fork and is sort of stroking the turf at long on. He’s obviously a trained professional but it’s the sort of questionable technique that would have had your dad chiding you on a Sunday morning and telling you to ‘frame yourself, lad’. Let’s hope this bloke’s scarifying is a tad more more gratifying all round.
1.43pm BST
Dan Lawrence has been cleaned up by Matt Salisbury, and Essex are officially in all sorts.
1.40pm BST
“It might be stretching a point slightly,” says William Vincent, “but surely either Beefy Botham or Freddie Flintoff merit a place in the Elliterative Eleven (sic)?”
I’m afraid Martin McCague’s got the No6 spot wrapped up.
1.35pm BST
Play has resumed at Chelmsford, where they went off early because of rain. And Essex have lost a sixth wicket: Adam Wheater c Borthwick b Raine 18, Essex are 74 for six.
Raine stops play again at Chelmsfort. This time only for Adam Wheater.
Preparing the standard Chelmsfort green mamba against Durham isn't a great idea.
1.33pm BST
It’s been Warwickshire’s morning at Trent Bridge, with Nottinghamshire heading into lunch on 76 for four from 27 overs and ruing at least a couple of the dismissals. Ben Slater (5) played a loose drive to give Olly Stone the early breakthrough, then Haseeb Hameed (19) failed to capitalise on the life handed to him on two when a full toss from Will Rhodes was slotted to cover.
Ben Duckett (17) lbw to Tim Bresnan was a decent inswinger - even if the Yorkshireman is 10mph slower than during his England days - and then just before the interval we saw Joe Clarke half set-off for a single before changing his mind, only for Will Rhodes to swoop in from cover and run out Lyndon James (11) at the non-striker’s end with a lasered throw. Fine work by the Bears captain, no question, and his team have been very disciplined since losing the toss on what looks a good pitch. But Notts will be feeling a bit Newell, Mick.
1.06pm BST
I’ll be back at 1.40pm. While you scoff your vegan foie gras, why not read Ali’s piece on Wisden 2021.
Related: Wisden accuses English cricket of ‘raising a finger’ to BLM in 2021 edition
1.05pm BST
That’s the end of the morning’s action around England and Wales. The most eye-catching action took place at Chelmsford, where Durham reduced the champions Essex to 36 for five. Dan Lawrence led a decent recovery, dragging Essex to 74 for five before rain stopped play.
There was also some pulsating strokeplay from Adam Lyth, who hit 82 not out from 86 balls to help Yorkshire to 128 for two against Kent. And David Lloyd hammered 10 fours in his unbeaten 77 against Sussex, with Glamorgan fighting back from 23 for three to 120 for three.
12.58pm BST
Masterclass: the cover drive with Adam Lyth
We promise these are all different clips @lythy09's 50 came with plenty of cover drives!#LVCountyChamp LIVE: https://t.co/SyebMiubg3 pic.twitter.com/G9ijjGE2fp
12.57pm BST
WICKET | A mix-up in the middle. James is sent back at the non-strikers end but can't make his ground before Rhodes' direct hit.
63/4.
Live stream and scorecard https://t.co/vsj1aunTFe#NottsvWar
12.56pm BST
Loten gone! Carbon copy off Kohler-Cadmore dismissal, but this time caught behind down leg off Podmore for 27. 96-run partnership with Lyth broken. 124-2 in the 28th #OneRose
12.51pm BST
The players have gone for an early lunch at Chelmsford, where Essex have made a slight recovery after slipping to 36 for five.
12.50pm BST
“A slightly different take on that excellent point from HighPeakGeek re Haseeb Hameed,” says Gary Naylor. “I recall Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac saying that anyone who can do anything well, knows they can do it better. Very perceptive - and not always a good thing.”
That’s a great line, and profoundly depressing.
12.49pm BST
Okay. Alliterative XI this time. Got 8. Bowling cleans up quite nicely, especially on a fast one.
1. Graham Gooch
2. Gordon Greenidge
3. Richie Richardson
4. Steve Smith
5
6
7
8. Malcolm Marshall
9. Colin Croft
10. Patrick Patterson
11. Muttiah Muralitharan
I don’t suppose Yousuf Youhana is allowed at No5.
12.47pm BST
Re Haseeb Hameed: I thought in his brilliant breakthrough first season, at the time, when you looked at it, he tended to bat for ages and then get out: 60 in 5 hours type thing. So, at the point where you would expect him to be at his most fluent, he couldn't go on to the big hundred although he did get lots of fifties. You'd almost rather he got a duck, then a ton, then a duck.
I was torn between 'he's only 19, it's great that he has the discipline at that age' and 'it's only division two, what will happen once they work him out and he gets to a higher level.'
12.46pm BST
Glamorgan (107-3) v Sussex The home side have recovered impressively after falling to 23 for three. David Lloyd is flying; he has 66 from 72 balls.
12.44pm BST
WICKET! Somerset 80-4 (Hildreth c Lace b Taylor 17) A big wicket for Gloucestershire just before lunch, with James Hildreth brilliantly caught by Tom Lace at square leg.
12.42pm BST
Yorkshire (111-1) v Kent
Adam Lyth is still on the charge at Canterbury, 71 not out from 76 balls, with Yorkshire going at almost 4.5 per over. Tom Loten is playing a more traditional innings, 25 not out from 62 balls.
12.40pm BST
Without banging on too much about the day job, one interesting thing about high achievers in education - people with PhDs and so on - is that occasionally you come across someone so gifted that they've never struggled with anything very much in life but sufficiently introspective that when they finally do come across obstacles they've not developed the mental tools to deal with them effectively and then really struggle. It's not a weakness of personality or anything like that, it's simply not being able to evolve certain qualities that those of us who klutz our way through life are forced to develop early.
Haseeb was thought of by the Lancs heirarchy as being one of the biggest talents they'd had for many years and cricket came easily to him. Rob, you're absolutely right that the issues have to be largely in his head, and I wonder if his early consistent success made it harder to manage the struggles that would inevitably come later.
This is really interesting. Robin Smith spoke about something similar in his autobiography. Hameed also seems extremely self-aware, which isn’t always a blessing.
12.33pm BST
WICKET! Somerset 69-3 (Abell LBW b Taylor 26) Gloucestershire have completed a hat-trick of Toms at Taunton: Lammonby, Banton and now Abell, offering no shot to Matt Taylor.
12.31pm BST
Essex (62-5) v Durham
Dan Lawrence and Adam Wheater, who came together at 36 for five, are trying to regroup at Chelmsford. Lawrence is going well, 31 not out from 48 balls.
12.30pm BST
Rob, I think the only real explanation Lankies have for what happened to Haseeb was that he was really keen on making a mark in all formats and compromised his peerless defensive game for a more attacking style that just doesn't work for him.
I suppose, as with all these things, there are multiple factors, the biggest being confidence. But I can’t believe the teenager who had the England dressing-room “in awe” of his batting, and who looked like a cross between Geoff Boycott, Gary Neville and Max Fischer, has been almost a walking wicket every since. His first-class average since that India tour is 21.91.
12.26pm BST
Blimey, how good is this?
One of the two runners-up in the Wisden Photograph of the Year competition, is this stunning entry from @jedleicester taken in North Devon. pic.twitter.com/uUAkECf1pT
12.25pm BST
Notts (44-3) v Warks
And Nottinghamshire are suddenly three down with two new batsmen at the crease. Confident shout by Tim Bresnan for a catch down leg off Ben Duckett is declined but next ball he gets one to swing into the left-hander’s pads for an lbw that looked pretty good. Promising whippersnapper Lyndon James the next man in.
12.24pm BST
One of the best things about this format is that what used to be disparaged as 'Div 2' attacks can beat the crap out of 'Div 1' batting line-ups.
Same goes for batting, obvs.
12.23pm BST
Leicestershire (46-0) v Surrey
Leicestershire are the only side who haven’t lost a wicket this morning. They’ve moved solidly to 46 for none after 20 overs at the Kia Oval. Sam Evans has 31 from 66 balls, Hassan Azad 13 from 55.
12.21pm BST
As an incorrigible smart alec, I reckon I can explain 99.94 per cent of all the sport I have watched over the last 35 years. But I don’t think I’ll ever truly understand what happened to Haseeb Hameed.
12.20pm BST
Galling ... Will Rhodes sends down a looping full toss in his first over and Haseeb Hameed just plops it straight to Dom Sibley cover on 19. Here comes Joe Clarke to join Ben Duckett with Notts 44 for two.
12.19pm BST
“It’s over, you don’t need to tell me...”
Hameed c Sibley b Rhodes 19 (Notts 44-2 v Warks)
12.15pm BST
Nottinghamshire v Warwickshire
Haseeb Hameed and Ben Duckett are starting to get the scoreboard ticking over at Trent Bridge, with that short boundary proving a source of runs. Remembered they both played Test cricket together four-and-a bit years ago but we’re a world away from Rajkot and Visakhapatnam. OHD has bowled eight overs off the reel this morning and there will be a few more to come today, I fancy. Tim Bresnan is the third seamer and there’s the option of Will Rhodes too, but the debut for Hanuma Vihari sees Warwickshire a batsman err heavier this week. Notts 43 for one after 16 overs and Rhodes is indeed replacing OHD from the Radcliffe Road End now.
12.07pm BST
I’m going to take a very quick coffee break. No misbehaviour while I’m away.
12.06pm BST
Group 1
12.04pm BST
The champions have fallen in a heap this morning. Brydon Carse has now taken two wickets in his first over: Paul Walter dragged a loosener onto his stumps, and Ryan ten Doeschate lasted three balls before being caught in the slips ducking a bouncer. Yep, really.
CARSE AGAIN!!
Essex 36/5#ForTheNorth pic.twitter.com/qOJKpzNMXs
12.01pm BST
Hampshire (29-1) v Middlesex The very promising Ethan Bamber has taken Middlesex’s first wicket at the Ageas Bowl. Joe Weatherley has gone for 16, stumped by John Simps- hang on, stumped by John Simpson? Here it is in fact, a majestic piece of work.
| QUICK WORK BY SIMPSON!
Weatherley goes for 16!
Hampshire 26/1
https://t.co/88NHzekem8 #OneMiddlesex
11.58am BST
YouTube gold department
Oh my, I have been looking for this for ages, mainly to watch the legendary contest between Waqar Younis and Robin Smith.
11.52am BST
Yorkshire are going beautifully in their limited-overs game at Canterbury. Adam Lyth is 48 not out from 39 balls and Yorks are 75 for one in the 13th.
11.49am BST
Haseeb Hameedwatch Six not out from 31 balls, dropped in the slips on two.
11.47am BST
We’ve had 11 wickets across the nine games, though by the time I finish this entry it’ll probably be 12 or 13. The only unscathed teams are:
Leicestershire (23-0) v Surrey
11.44am BST
The only problem with making Darren Stevens cricketer of the year this year is what do you do next year after another superlative season while being a full year older?
There’s a special award for that.
11.40am BST
Yorkshire v Kent Yorkshire are rattling along against my boyhood club at Canterbury, having reached 58 for one after 10 overs. Adam Lyth has 35 from 30 balls. Harry Podmore received the majority of the tap, going for 37 from four overs.
11.36am BST
Here’s the Sir Alastair Cook wicket. He didn’t look thrilled with the decision, though it looked good from 704.2 miles away.
Alastair Cook lbw Chris Rushworth #ForTheNorth pic.twitter.com/FY9TlmM72B
11.35am BST
Notts (11-1) v Warks
... but Stone strikes next over, Slater playing a loose drive and seeing the catch fly to Sam Hain at second slip, who points to the heavens in celebration. Notts are 11 for one.
11.34am BST
Glamorgan (23-3) v Sussex Billy Root didn’t last long in Cardiff: 10 balls to be exact, before he was LBW to Henry Cromcombe for 1.
11.32am BST
Nottinghamshire (10-0) v Warwickshire
A decent probing start from Olly Stone and Oliver Hann-Dalby (to give him his truncated scoreboard name) and, accordingly, some solid work from Ben Slater and Haseeb Hameed to repel the new ball pair Bears. And as I type that, Hameed has just earned a life on two, edging one to Rob Yates at third slip who puts down a straightforward catch. OHD, who has got the ball to swing, is the frustrated bowler and Notts are 10 for no loss after seven overs.
11.29am BST
That strange sound you can hear is everyone frantically adding Chris Rushworth to their fantasy team before 11.30am. He has picked up his second wicket, nipping one back to nail Sir Alastair Cook in front.
11.27am BST
Lanchashire (11-0) v Northants
“Hi Rob,” says Gary Naylor. Northants supporting both opening bowlers with four slips in close order and getting through their overs at a decent tempo. Anyone watching the excellent Youtube streams who has only seen international cricket will be amazed how much captains can attack in the field and how players can get on with the game if they want to.”
11.26am BST
Glamorgan (22-2) v Sussex Two wickets for Ollie Robinson already; he has trapped Andy Balbirnie LBW for four. England have got to look at Robinson this summer, haven’t they? (And btw, before slanderous accusating start flying around, I had him as my fantasy captain before 11am.)
11.22am BST
Essex (12-2) v Durham
The champions are in early bother at Chelmsford. Tom Westley has gone for four, caught behind off Matt Salisbury, and Dan Lawrence has come out to join Sir Alastair.
11.20am BST
I forgot to say that this is my first time on the county blog, so apologies in advance for the 17 cock-ups coming your way over the next eight hours.
11.19am BST
There have been early wickets in most of the games. At Taunton, Tom Lammonby has gone for another duck, caught in the slips off the ever excellent Ryan Higgins. And at Canterbury, WCOTY Darren Stevens has struck in his second over: Tom Kohler-Cadmore has been caught behind for a breezy 14.
11.13am BST
Our man Ali Martin points out that there will be 100 overs today, to make up for some of the time that will be lost on Saturday.
Matches will pause on Saturday between 14:50 and 16:10 on Saturday 17 April, to coincide with the funeral of HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh. pic.twitter.com/AoR70tz9vL
11.10am BST
Glamorgan (0-1) v Sussex
It didn’t take Ollie Robinson long to get in and amongst: he has trapped Nick Selman LBW with the third ball of the match in Cardiff.
11.07am BST
Olly Stone v Haseeb Hameed should be good
LIVE STREAMS!
Come and watch your county in action: https://t.co/SyebMiubg3#LVCountyChamp pic.twitter.com/0nNoBr21Rm
11.03am BST
Well that escalated quickly
WICKET: Browne goes without score and Essex are 0-1 in the first over.#ESSvDUR
10.56am BST
Before we start, this, on everyone’s favourite subject, is well worth a read.
Related: Outs not wickets? Linguistic leg-spin won’t make people fall in love with cricket | Daniel Harris
10.55am BST
Nine men have tossed a coin, nine socially distanced counterparts have called head or tails, and this is the result.
10.47am BST
Darren Stevens is 44 years 350 days old. It’s never too late. Fair enough, it probably is too late - no offence, but look at you - but what a charming story.
Morning Rob, morning everyone, MORNING CRICKETER OF THE YEAR DARREN STEVENS!
Was anyone not entirely delighted by that news? It's the joy we all needed. Stevo!
10.42am BST
Morning Rob and friends, have followed the Warwickshire bus to arguably the country’s most significant sporting hubs - Trent Bridge - for what feels a win-win toss from the neutral’s perspective (am claiming this, being both Nottingham-born but now based in leafy south Brum). If Notts bat, we get to see the returning Olly Stone steaming in; should they field, it’s the returning Stuart Broad versus newly minted Wisden cricketer of the year Dom Sibley makes for an enticing new-ball battle.
Who knows, we might see all this today and more with plenty of good players on both sides. The sun is shining, the boundary looks extraordinarily short where that New Stand along the Bridgford Road slices diagonally across, and the teams - who both drew last week - are doing their usual flea circus warm-up drills on the outfield. Nice.
10.26am BST
And here’s a statgasm to set the mood
The first official County Championship match was in 1890. The first Sheffield Shield match was in 1892. Today is the first time that there has been play in both competitions on the same day.
10.24am BST
Happy Wisden Day! The 2021 Almanack is published today, a sylphlike 1,248-page edition because of Covid. But life moves pretty fast, even in the genteel world of county cricket, and a little bit of Wisden 2022 will be written today. The second round of fixtures in the modified County Championship start at 11am, and here’s what we’ve got to look forward to, with added sponsorship details:
Group 1
Continue reading...Robinson shines for Sussex as 17 wickets fall at Chelmsford
Seventeen wickets fell on a dramatic first day in Chelmsford, while Sussex’s Ollie Robinson gave the England selectors another nudge
7.51pm BST
Seventeen wickets fell on a wild first day at Chelmsford. The green, green grass of home was no comfort to the champions Essex while they were being skittled for 96 by Durham. The visitors attacked with scalpel and sledgehammer: Chris Rushworth bowled with surgical precision to take three for 13, while Brydon Carse (three for 37) put the wind up the Essex batsmen in a couple of ferocious spells.
Durham were only one wicket down when they went into the lead – but then, on a pitch that looked custom-made for the seamers, Essex’s spinners took a shortcut through the middle order. Durham finished on a precarious 144 for seven. Almost 70% of those runs by Scott Borthwick, who scored his first century for Durham, and an extraordinary innings on such a low-scoring day.
7.23pm BST
Group 1
7.23pm BST
A visual representation of what your maiden ton for your home County means...@SamEvans97
#runningfoxes | #ANewBreed | #AcademyOfCricket pic.twitter.com/F4HNB1idM7
6.45pm BST
Outstanding, @Borthwick16! #ForTheNorth pic.twitter.com/zkORArcg9A
6.39pm BST
Was hoping for the prospect of Stuart Broad, who owns a pub, bowling to Rob Yates, who is presumably named after a wine bar. But the latter didn’t face the first over and is now out first ball trying to cut a loosener from Zak Chappell and edging to a diving Tom Moores behind the stumps.
Yates had moved up to open with Will Rhodes in place of Dom Sibley, whose status we’re trying to ascertain. He did spend some time off the field after tea but information limited. Warwickshire four for one after two overs in reply to Nottinghamshire’s 273 all out.
6.29pm BST
That’s some innings, 100 not out in a score of 141 for five. It’s his first century for Durham since 2016, and a pretty emotional one by the sound of things.
6.07pm BST
Shot of the day (probably)
That is glorious @mattcritchley96
The @DerbyshireCCC all-rounder has just gone to his
Watch LIVE STREAMS: https://t.co/SyebMiubg3 pic.twitter.com/dVAU3OYGdY
5.57pm BST
The collapse is on at Chelmsford, where Durham have slipped from 98 for one to 114 for four. Sam Cook and Simon Harmer have two wickets apiece; Scott Borthwick is still there on 79.
5.50pm BST
It’s been a brilliant start to the season for Derbyshire’s Matt Critchley: 64 and 83 against Warwickshire and now a rapid hundred against Worcestershire. He’s faced 138 balls and hit 10 fours. Oh, and Derbyshire are 327 for four.
5.29pm BST
WICKET! Durham 98-2 (Young c Lawrence b Harmer 24) Ah, Will Young has gone, caught at leg slip off the inevitable Simon Harmer. Durham lead by two.
5.28pm BST
And they still have nine wickets remaining. Scott Borthwick is flying: he has made 65 from 75 balls, dominating a partnership of 87 with Will Young. Borthwick made 0 and 1 on his second Durham debut last week.
5.18pm BST
An excellent half-century from Liam Patterson-White at chilly Trent Bridge, coming from 82 balls over two hours at the crease. Arrived with the score on 119 for six and has pushed Nottinghamshire towards a more respectable 231 for eight in the 74th over of this elongated day.
The 22-year-old looks a very competent left-hander and a gusty one too. He’s been struck on the body by Olly Stone and hit in the head by Tim Bresnan but he’s held firm in the main and played some nice drives through the off-side. Warwickshire getting a little frustrated out there.
5.13pm BST
Glamorgan 285 all out v Sussex The young offspinner Jack Carson has hurried through the Glamorgan tail, taking three for 14 in seven overs. His near namesake Kiran Carlson was left stranded on 127 not out.
5.03pm BST
Group 1
5.01pm BST
Three for Kerrigan! Dane Vilas has gone, LBW for 26, and Simon Kerrigan’s soul is a little purer than it was this morning.
79.3 | KerrAGAIN!
Traps Vilas bang in front to claim his third of the innings.
Lancashire 212/6. pic.twitter.com/0D5H3mcolz
4.54pm BST
A second wicket for Simon Kerrigan at Lancashire, and what a gorgeous bit of bowling it was.
77.2 | Another for Kerrigan!
Lovely bowling, beats an advancing Jones and Rossington's lightning hands do the rest.
Lancashire 205/5. pic.twitter.com/BVvf5ilKLt
4.47pm BST
Here’s more from Ali on Broad’s biffoonery
Stuart Broad rolled out some of the hits during a 19-ball 21, with a couple of thrashed fours through the offside and a couple more down to fine leg off the inside edge. But, alas, he's gone thanks to a simple edge to slip off Rhodes, who now has 4-50. Notts 210-8.
4.45pm BST
Stuart Broad flogged a 19-ball 21 for Notts, but he’s gone now to Will Rhodes. That’s Rhodes’ fourth wicket, and Notts are 214 for eight.
4.42pm BST
Glamorgan (270-7) v Sussex
An important wicket just after tea! @SMeaker18 has his first of the match as Dan Douthwaite is caught at cover by @TomClark2702. [266-7] #gosbts pic.twitter.com/9yLaOCtfv5
4.40pm BST
Essex 96 all out v Durham 42-1 Looks like Durham are plodding along pretty nicely at Chelmsford. Will Young has 13 from 50 balls, Scott Borthwick 20 from 35.
4.36pm BST
Rhodes sends off stump flying
It brings Stuart Broad to the crease...
Watch LIVE here https://t.co/SyebMiubg3 pic.twitter.com/6GnYPeB4P2
4.31pm BST
Group 1
4.09pm BST
I’m going to take a short tea break. I’ll update the blog less frequently when I return, as I need to do the paper round-up and I’ve never done it before and I’m slightly scored, but I’ll try to flag up any milestones, collapses or Darren Stevens wickets. You don’t need me, anyway: you’ve created possibly the only BTL community on the internet that doesn’t require a single bit of moderation or management.
4.01pm BST
Nottinghamshire v Warwickshire
A solid fightback from Tom Moores and Liam Patterson-White before tea, both men unbeaten on 26 with Nottinghamshire 176 for six. Moores has a touch of the Moeen Ali about the way he bats; a very fluid left-hander who looks so relaxed and easy on the eye. Had Danny Briggs held a diving catch at mid-wicket when Moores was on six, Notts would be deeper in trouble but this pair have chiselled away competently since.
4.00pm BST
WICKET! Hampshire 196-6 (McManus b Sowter 4)
| WICKET FOR SOWTER!
McManus goes for 4
Hampshire 196/6
https://t.co/8PwNkjjTTC | https://t.co/88NHzekem8#OneMiddlesex
3.59pm BST
Tea: Glamorgan 247-6 The first hundred of the day has been scored just before tea at Cardiff by the promising Kiran Carlson. It’s his fifth first-class century and his first since April 2019. He’s hit 12 fours, faced 155 balls and, with help from David Lloyd and Dan Douthwaite, rescued Glamorgan from 23 for three against Sussex.
3.54pm BST
‘Look in the book’ department
☝️ | ANOTHER FOR FINN
Dawson hits it straight to Andersson at mid-wicket for 22
Hampshire 195/5 after 61 overs
https://t.co/8PwNkjjTTC | https://t.co/88NHzekem8#OneMiddlesex
3.54pm BST
WICKET! Yorkshire 240-6 (Tattersall c Stevens b Leaning 11) Jack Leaning has taken a wicket with his first ball of the day!
3.53pm BST
The afternoon session has flown by. The main story is still at Chelmsford, where Essex were rolled for 96 by Durham’s accomplished seam attack. As well as that 96, we’ve had individual scores of 97 (from Adam Lyth v Kent) and 98 (Leus du Plooy v Worcestershire), but no centuries yet. The best bowling performance has come from the superb Ollie Robinson, who has four for 41 for Sussex against Glamorgan.
These are the latest scores, with tea being taken in some of the games.
3.46pm BST
Glamorgan 226-6 v Sussex Kiran Carlson, who happily played second fiddle earlier in the day while David Lloyd was racing to 84, is now 92 not out at Cardiff.
3.44pm BST
A lovely moment, this. Simon Kerrigan strikes against his old county, straightening one sharply to trap Josh Bohannon LBW for a good 68.
61.3 | Kerrigan gets his reward! ☝️
Constant from the left-armer pressure pays off and Bohannon goes.
Lancashire 171/4. pic.twitter.com/KZq7GZLmH8
3.38pm BST
WICKET! Durham 11-1 (Lees c Wheater b Cook 5)
The eleventh wicket of the day at Chelsmford. Alex Lees edges a good delivery from Sam Cook through to the keeper, which takes Cook to an important milestone.
up for @samcook09 pic.twitter.com/sjr8b5QE2M
3.37pm BST
Essex 96 all out having won the toss and batted first. pic.twitter.com/S4aCRM6h2p
3.35pm BST
WICKET! Yorkshire 227-5 (Brook LBW b Cummins 54) v Kent Harry Brook has gone for a jaunty 54, trapped LBW by Miguel Cummins. That’s an important wicket for Cummins, who has had a slow start to the Championship season.
3.34pm BST
Leus du Plooy has fallen two short of a century! He was stuck in the nineties for more than 10 overs, and now he has been bowled by Brett d’Oliveira. So we still haven’t had a century today. Adam Lyth fell for 97 and now du Plooy has gone for 98.
3.31pm BST
Somerset 212-5 v Gloucestershire Somerset were struggling to put together a substantial partnership, ‘were’ being the operative word. Steven Davies (64) and Craig Overton (43 from 57 balls) have added 112 for the sixth wicket in less than 22 overs.
3.28pm BST
Group 1
3.23pm BST
Leus du Plooywatch He’s negotiating the nervous nineties through dot balls and singles, and needs two more for his century.
3.22pm BST
Lancashire have lost a third wicket against Northants. It didn’t, alas, fall to Simon Kerrigan but he is still bowling very nicely, with figures of 13.4-5-18-0. As for the wicket, it was Tom Taylor’s second of the day, Steven Croft caught behind for an 85-ball 26.
3.18pm BST
Play has resumed at the Oval, where Leicestershire have inched to 93 without loss. Make that 94. We could do this all day.
3.17pm BST
Nervous nineties department Derbyshire’s Leus du Plooy has turned into Leus du Plod. He was 88 not out from 133 balls; he’s now 97 from 159. But he’s still there, three away from a first-class century, and that puts him one up on us lot.
3.13pm BST
Brydon Carse completes a spectacular Durham bowling performance by taking the wicket of Sam Cook for 15. The champions Essex have been bowled out in double figures. Carse and Chris Rushworth took three wickets each, Ben Raine and Matt Salisbury shared the other four.
3.08pm BST
Sam Cook is inching Essex towards three figures at Chelmsford. He is 11 not out, Essex are 92 for nine against Durham.
2.59pm BST
Ollie Robinson (Sussex) has picked up a fourth wicket at Cardiff. Callum Taylor has gone for three and Glamorgan are in bother at 179 for six.
2.58pm BST
Play has resumed at Chelmsford. And, yep, another wicket has fallen: Essex are 82 for nine. Ben Allison is the man out, caught behind off Chris Rushworth for four.
2.55pm BST
“Peeling off the covers at the Oval and the rope is being whizzed around, hopefully not long before they are back on,” writes Jim Wallace from his Oval office. “Boring isn’t it, sitting in a box perspex watching men mess about with bits of tarpaulin in the drizzle?
Not for me I like it.”
2.54pm BST
Joe Clarke v Olly Stone part 2
... and now Joe Clarke falls for 29 after two hours at the crease, as Olly (fire and brim) Stone gets one to lift off the surface and find the edge of a cut shot. Looked a loose shot but fancy the extra pace and a bit of movement just as relevant. Stone loved it ... he doesn’t leap these days after injuring his snapping his ACL doing that a few seasons ago, but the celebration was still pretty wild. Notts 119 for six.
2.52pm BST
‘Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better’
| WICKET FOR ANDERSSON!
Vince caught by Eskinazi at first slip for 9
Hampshire 143/4 after 45 overs
https://t.co/8PwNkjjTTC | https://t.co/88NHzekem8#OneMiddlesex
2.51pm BST
Joe Clarke v Olly Stone, part 1
Notts 113-5 v Warks Well, India’s Hanuma Vihari is a popular man among his new Warwickshire team-mates, taking a superb catch over his shoulder at mid-wicket to dismiss Steve Mullaney. Search out the clip, it was a special piece of fielding from the debutant, who is not long out of quarantine. Mullaney falls for 31, having just been given a life on 26 when Dom Sibley, recently moved to first slip, grassed one after Tim Bresnan found the edge. Tom Moores joins Joe Clarke, who has just seen a huge appeal from Olly Stone for caught behind turned down. Clarke seemed to suggest it was forearm after Stone, who has picked up his pace this afternoon, fired one into the rib area.
2.50pm BST
Alliterative XI
“Here’s my final effort,” says Prasad Bhonsule:
2.47pm BST
WICKET! Hampshire 143-4 (Vince c Eskinazi b Andersson 9) The in-form James Vince didn’t last long: nine balls, two boundaries and then a windy woof outside off stump at Martin Andersson.
2.43pm BST
WICKET! Nottinghamshire 109-5 (Mullaney c Vihari b Rhodes 31)
This is a spectacular catch from Hanuma Vihari.
!
WHAT A CATCH.
Match Centre https://t.co/0efkMHnNAw
#YouBears | #NOTvWAR pic.twitter.com/N2y9LC101Y
2.41pm BST
Ollie Robinson (Sussex version) has grabbed a third wicket - all LBW - at Cardiff. Chris Cooke is out for 13 and Glamorgan are 174 for five. Sussex have also confirmed that Phil Salt has broken a bone in his foot.
Get well soon, @PhilSalt1
We've provided an update on the batsman's injury:
2.39pm BST
They were supposed to restart at the Kia Oval just over 10 minutes ago, but it started raining again so they’re still off the field. Leicestershire are 86 for none against Surrey.
2.36pm BST
Somerset (157-5) v Gloucestershire Steven Davies (42) and Craig Overton (17) have launched an impressive counter-attack, adding 47 at more than a run a ball.
2.33pm BST
WICKET! Hampshire 128-3 (Holland c Robson b Roland-Jones 64) Another wicket for Middlesex at the Ageas Bowl. Toby Roland-Jones has struck to end Ian Holland’s patient innings of 64. Sharp delivery too.
☝️ | WICKET FOR ROLAND-JONES
Holland is caught at second slip by Robson for 64
Hampshire 129/3 after 42 overs
https://t.co/8PwNkjjTTC | https://t.co/88NHzekem8#OneMiddlesex
2.23pm BST
Group 1
2.19pm BST
WICKET! Yorkshire 150-4 (Lyth c Robinson b Milnes 97) Kent are starting to chip away at Canterbury, and Adam Lyth has fallen three short of a century. That’s a second wicket for Matt Milnes and a fourth catch for the other very promising Ollie Robinson.
2.17pm BST
Lancashire (108-2) v Northants “Lovely to see Simon Kerrigan (still only 31!) bowling beautifully at Old Trafford for Northants,” says Gary Naylor. “The only disappointment is that there are no supporters in the ground to show their appreciation for a player whose reputation really should rest on that Championship season a decade ago and not on a couple of bad days at The Oval.”
It should, but it won’t, not in this life. “Please don’t confront me with my failures; I had not forgotten them.”
2.14pm BST
Derbyshire (145-2) v Worcestershire Leus du Plooy, who bagged a pair against Warwickshire in the opening Championship game, is making up for lost runs: he has raced to 75 not out at Derby.
2.12pm BST
The rain has returned and we're off the field again with Essex 81-8.#ESSvDUR
2.06pm BST
Surrey v Leicestershire: Bad light/rain stopped play
“Gah, just as I hit send the cloud equivalent of that great big spaceship from Independence Day rolled over and parked itself in Lambeth,” says Jim Wallace. “Now it is dark and the temperature has dropped by about 5 degrees. A couple of them could be due to the spectre of Colville though. I can see blue sky over to the east, Hipster-utsire, if you will, so hopefully we won’t be off for long. Li-chester’s Azad and Evans have looked very comfortable so far, they’ll be wanting to get back out there and bed in on this pitch.”
2.05pm BST
Somerset (110-5) v Gloucestershire Somerset can’t get a partnership going. George Bartlett was looking good but now he’s gone, LBW to Ryan Higgins for 22.
2.02pm BST
Yorkshire (143-3) v Kent The England captain Joe Root’s slow start to the season continues. He has gone for 11, caught behind off Matt Milnes for 11. How many did he get? Adam Lyth is still there, 10 away from a pulsating hundred.
1.57pm BST
Big breakthrough straight after lunch!
David Lloyd is out for an impressive 84, well caught at second slip by @George_Garton off the bowling of @Henry_Crocombe. [133-4] #gosbts pic.twitter.com/IDb0qv5Eif
1.57pm BST
Well I never. Simon Harmer has gone for a duck, caught in the slips of Ben Raine, and Essex have lost three wickets for two runs.
1.55pm BST
Lancashire (104-2) v Northants Alex Davies has been run out for a breezy 57 at Emirates Old Trafford.
Hampshire (86-2) v Middlesex And at the Ageas, Tom Alsop has been bounced out by Steven Finn.
| WICKET FOR FINNY!
Alsop is caught by Sowter for 19
Hampshire 77/2
https://t.co/8PwNkjjTTC | https://t.co/88NHzekem8#OneMiddlesex
1.52pm BST
Do you see what happens, Larry, when you play cricket in mid-April?
BAD LIGHT STOPS PLAY
It's very gloomy at The Kia Oval and the players are taken off by the umpires.
Leicestershire - 86/0 pic.twitter.com/1FNmcNXJgW
1.49pm BST
Unplayable adj.
unable to be played.
Salisburyyyy!
Lawrence gone. Essex 74/7#ForTheNorth pic.twitter.com/IWJ9UNtQxV
1.47pm BST
Leicestershire v Surrey
“Greetings from the Oval Rob,” writes Wisden Cricket Monthly’s Jim Wallace. “Leicestershire have made rather serene progress to reach 75-0 and the sun has started to shine. The ground staff are casting shadows across the outfield as they poke and prod, one chap has a very long fork and is sort of stroking the turf at long on. He’s obviously a trained professional but it’s the sort of questionable technique that would have had your dad chiding you on a Sunday morning and telling you to ‘frame yourself, lad’. Let’s hope this bloke’s scarifying is a tad more more gratifying all round.
1.43pm BST
Dan Lawrence has been cleaned up by Matt Salisbury, and Essex are officially in all sorts.
1.40pm BST
“It might be stretching a point slightly,” says William Vincent, “but surely either Beefy Botham or Freddie Flintoff merit a place in the Elliterative Eleven (sic)?”
I’m afraid Martin McCague’s got the No6 spot wrapped up.
1.35pm BST
Play has resumed at Chelmsford, where they went off early because of rain. And Essex have lost a sixth wicket: Adam Wheater c Borthwick b Raine 18, Essex are 74 for six.
Raine stops play again at Chelmsfort. This time only for Adam Wheater.
Preparing the standard Chelmsfort green mamba against Durham isn't a great idea.
1.33pm BST
It’s been Warwickshire’s morning at Trent Bridge, with Nottinghamshire heading into lunch on 76 for four from 27 overs and ruing at least a couple of the dismissals. Ben Slater (5) played a loose drive to give Olly Stone the early breakthrough, then Haseeb Hameed (19) failed to capitalise on the life handed to him on two when a full toss from Will Rhodes was slotted to cover.
Ben Duckett (17) lbw to Tim Bresnan was a decent inswinger - even if the Yorkshireman is 10mph slower than during his England days - and then just before the interval we saw Joe Clarke half set-off for a single before changing his mind, only for Will Rhodes to swoop in from cover and run out Lyndon James (11) at the non-striker’s end with a lasered throw. Fine work by the Bears captain, no question, and his team have been very disciplined since losing the toss on what looks a good pitch. But Notts will be feeling a bit Newell, Mick.
1.06pm BST
I’ll be back at 1.40pm. While you scoff your vegan foie gras, why not read Ali’s piece on Wisden 2021.
Related: Wisden accuses English cricket of ‘raising a finger’ to BLM in 2021 edition
1.05pm BST
That’s the end of the morning’s action around England and Wales. The most eye-catching action took place at Chelmsford, where Durham reduced the champions Essex to 36 for five. Dan Lawrence led a decent recovery, dragging Essex to 74 for five before rain stopped play.
There was also some pulsating strokeplay from Adam Lyth, who hit 82 not out from 86 balls to help Yorkshire to 128 for two against Kent. And David Lloyd hammered 10 fours in his unbeaten 77 against Sussex, with Glamorgan fighting back from 23 for three to 120 for three.
12.58pm BST
Masterclass: the cover drive with Adam Lyth
We promise these are all different clips @lythy09's 50 came with plenty of cover drives!#LVCountyChamp LIVE: https://t.co/SyebMiubg3 pic.twitter.com/G9ijjGE2fp
12.57pm BST
WICKET | A mix-up in the middle. James is sent back at the non-strikers end but can't make his ground before Rhodes' direct hit.
63/4.
Live stream and scorecard https://t.co/vsj1aunTFe#NottsvWar
12.56pm BST
Loten gone! Carbon copy off Kohler-Cadmore dismissal, but this time caught behind down leg off Podmore for 27. 96-run partnership with Lyth broken. 124-2 in the 28th #OneRose
12.51pm BST
The players have gone for an early lunch at Chelmsford, where Essex have made a slight recovery after slipping to 36 for five.
12.50pm BST
“A slightly different take on that excellent point from HighPeakGeek re Haseeb Hameed,” says Gary Naylor. “I recall Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac saying that anyone who can do anything well, knows they can do it better. Very perceptive - and not always a good thing.”
That’s a great line, and profoundly depressing.
12.49pm BST
Okay. Alliterative XI this time. Got 8. Bowling cleans up quite nicely, especially on a fast one.
1. Graham Gooch
2. Gordon Greenidge
3. Richie Richardson
4. Steve Smith
5
6
7
8. Malcolm Marshall
9. Colin Croft
10. Patrick Patterson
11. Muttiah Muralitharan
I don’t suppose Yousuf Youhana is allowed at No5.
12.47pm BST
Re Haseeb Hameed: I thought in his brilliant breakthrough first season, at the time, when you looked at it, he tended to bat for ages and then get out: 60 in 5 hours type thing. So, at the point where you would expect him to be at his most fluent, he couldn't go on to the big hundred although he did get lots of fifties. You'd almost rather he got a duck, then a ton, then a duck.
I was torn between 'he's only 19, it's great that he has the discipline at that age' and 'it's only division two, what will happen once they work him out and he gets to a higher level.'
12.46pm BST
Glamorgan (107-3) v Sussex The home side have recovered impressively after falling to 23 for three. David Lloyd is flying; he has 66 from 72 balls.
12.44pm BST
WICKET! Somerset 80-4 (Hildreth c Lace b Taylor 17) A big wicket for Gloucestershire just before lunch, with James Hildreth brilliantly caught by Tom Lace at square leg.
12.42pm BST
Yorkshire (111-1) v Kent
Adam Lyth is still on the charge at Canterbury, 71 not out from 76 balls, with Yorkshire going at almost 4.5 per over. Tom Loten is playing a more traditional innings, 25 not out from 62 balls.
12.40pm BST
Without banging on too much about the day job, one interesting thing about high achievers in education - people with PhDs and so on - is that occasionally you come across someone so gifted that they've never struggled with anything very much in life but sufficiently introspective that when they finally do come across obstacles they've not developed the mental tools to deal with them effectively and then really struggle. It's not a weakness of personality or anything like that, it's simply not being able to evolve certain qualities that those of us who klutz our way through life are forced to develop early.
Haseeb was thought of by the Lancs heirarchy as being one of the biggest talents they'd had for many years and cricket came easily to him. Rob, you're absolutely right that the issues have to be largely in his head, and I wonder if his early consistent success made it harder to manage the struggles that would inevitably come later.
This is really interesting. Robin Smith spoke about something similar in his autobiography. Hameed also seems extremely self-aware, which isn’t always a blessing.
12.33pm BST
WICKET! Somerset 69-3 (Abell LBW b Taylor 26) Gloucestershire have completed a hat-trick of Toms at Taunton: Lammonby, Banton and now Abell, offering no shot to Matt Taylor.
12.31pm BST
Essex (62-5) v Durham
Dan Lawrence and Adam Wheater, who came together at 36 for five, are trying to regroup at Chelmsford. Lawrence is going well, 31 not out from 48 balls.
12.30pm BST
Rob, I think the only real explanation Lankies have for what happened to Haseeb was that he was really keen on making a mark in all formats and compromised his peerless defensive game for a more attacking style that just doesn't work for him.
I suppose, as with all these things, there are multiple factors, the biggest being confidence. But I can’t believe the teenager who had the England dressing-room “in awe” of his batting, and who looked like a cross between Geoff Boycott, Gary Neville and Max Fischer, has been almost a walking wicket every since. His first-class average since that India tour is 21.91.
12.26pm BST
Blimey, how good is this?
One of the two runners-up in the Wisden Photograph of the Year competition, is this stunning entry from @jedleicester taken in North Devon. pic.twitter.com/uUAkECf1pT
12.25pm BST
Notts (44-3) v Warks
And Nottinghamshire are suddenly three down with two new batsmen at the crease. Confident shout by Tim Bresnan for a catch down leg off Ben Duckett is declined but next ball he gets one to swing into the left-hander’s pads for an lbw that looked pretty good. Promising whippersnapper Lyndon James the next man in.
12.24pm BST
One of the best things about this format is that what used to be disparaged as 'Div 2' attacks can beat the crap out of 'Div 1' batting line-ups.
Same goes for batting, obvs.
12.23pm BST
Leicestershire (46-0) v Surrey
Leicestershire are the only side who haven’t lost a wicket this morning. They’ve moved solidly to 46 for none after 20 overs at the Kia Oval. Sam Evans has 31 from 66 balls, Hassan Azad 13 from 55.
12.21pm BST
As an incorrigible smart alec, I reckon I can explain 99.94 per cent of all the sport I have watched over the last 35 years. But I don’t think I’ll ever truly understand what happened to Haseeb Hameed.
12.20pm BST
Galling ... Will Rhodes sends down a looping full toss in his first over and Haseeb Hameed just plops it straight to Dom Sibley cover on 19. Here comes Joe Clarke to join Ben Duckett with Notts 44 for two.
12.19pm BST
“It’s over, you don’t need to tell me...”
Hameed c Sibley b Rhodes 19 (Notts 44-2 v Warks)
12.15pm BST
Nottinghamshire v Warwickshire
Haseeb Hameed and Ben Duckett are starting to get the scoreboard ticking over at Trent Bridge, with that short boundary proving a source of runs. Remembered they both played Test cricket together four-and-a bit years ago but we’re a world away from Rajkot and Visakhapatnam. OHD has bowled eight overs off the reel this morning and there will be a few more to come today, I fancy. Tim Bresnan is the third seamer and there’s the option of Will Rhodes too, but the debut for Hanuma Vihari sees Warwickshire a batsman err heavier this week. Notts 43 for one after 16 overs and Rhodes is indeed replacing OHD from the Radcliffe Road End now.
12.07pm BST
I’m going to take a very quick coffee break. No misbehaviour while I’m away.
12.06pm BST
Group 1
12.04pm BST
The champions have fallen in a heap this morning. Brydon Carse has now taken two wickets in his first over: Paul Walter dragged a loosener onto his stumps, and Ryan ten Doeschate lasted three balls before being caught in the slips ducking a bouncer. Yep, really.
CARSE AGAIN!!
Essex 36/5#ForTheNorth pic.twitter.com/qOJKpzNMXs
12.01pm BST
Hampshire (29-1) v Middlesex The very promising Ethan Bamber has taken Middlesex’s first wicket at the Ageas Bowl. Joe Weatherley has gone for 16, stumped by John Simps- hang on, stumped by John Simpson? Here it is in fact, a majestic piece of work.
| QUICK WORK BY SIMPSON!
Weatherley goes for 16!
Hampshire 26/1
https://t.co/88NHzekem8 #OneMiddlesex
11.58am BST
YouTube gold department
Oh my, I have been looking for this for ages, mainly to watch the legendary contest between Waqar Younis and Robin Smith.
11.52am BST
Yorkshire are going beautifully in their limited-overs game at Canterbury. Adam Lyth is 48 not out from 39 balls and Yorks are 75 for one in the 13th.
11.49am BST
Haseeb Hameedwatch Six not out from 31 balls, dropped in the slips on two.
11.47am BST
We’ve had 11 wickets across the nine games, though by the time I finish this entry it’ll probably be 12 or 13. The only unscathed teams are:
Leicestershire (23-0) v Surrey
11.44am BST
The only problem with making Darren Stevens cricketer of the year this year is what do you do next year after another superlative season while being a full year older?
There’s a special award for that.
11.40am BST
Yorkshire v Kent Yorkshire are rattling along against my boyhood club at Canterbury, having reached 58 for one after 10 overs. Adam Lyth has 35 from 30 balls. Harry Podmore received the majority of the tap, going for 37 from four overs.
11.36am BST
Here’s the Sir Alastair Cook wicket. He didn’t look thrilled with the decision, though it looked good from 704.2 miles away.
Alastair Cook lbw Chris Rushworth #ForTheNorth pic.twitter.com/FY9TlmM72B
11.35am BST
Notts (11-1) v Warks
... but Stone strikes next over, Slater playing a loose drive and seeing the catch fly to Sam Hain at second slip, who points to the heavens in celebration. Notts are 11 for one.
11.34am BST
Glamorgan (23-3) v Sussex Billy Root didn’t last long in Cardiff: 10 balls to be exact, before he was LBW to Henry Cromcombe for 1.
11.32am BST
Nottinghamshire (10-0) v Warwickshire
A decent probing start from Olly Stone and Oliver Hann-Dalby (to give him his truncated scoreboard name) and, accordingly, some solid work from Ben Slater and Haseeb Hameed to repel the new ball pair Bears. And as I type that, Hameed has just earned a life on two, edging one to Rob Yates at third slip who puts down a straightforward catch. OHD, who has got the ball to swing, is the frustrated bowler and Notts are 10 for no loss after seven overs.
11.29am BST
That strange sound you can hear is everyone frantically adding Chris Rushworth to their fantasy team before 11.30am. He has picked up his second wicket, nipping one back to nail Sir Alastair Cook in front.
11.27am BST
Lanchashire (11-0) v Northants
“Hi Rob,” says Gary Naylor. Northants supporting both opening bowlers with four slips in close order and getting through their overs at a decent tempo. Anyone watching the excellent Youtube streams who has only seen international cricket will be amazed how much captains can attack in the field and how players can get on with the game if they want to.”
11.26am BST
Glamorgan (22-2) v Sussex Two wickets for Ollie Robinson already; he has trapped Andy Balbirnie LBW for four. England have got to look at Robinson this summer, haven’t they? (And btw, before slanderous accusating start flying around, I had him as my fantasy captain before 11am.)
11.22am BST
Essex (12-2) v Durham
The champions are in early bother at Chelmsford. Tom Westley has gone for four, caught behind off Matt Salisbury, and Dan Lawrence has come out to join Sir Alastair.
11.20am BST
I forgot to say that this is my first time on the county blog, so apologies in advance for the 17 cock-ups coming your way over the next eight hours.
11.19am BST
There have been early wickets in most of the games. At Taunton, Tom Lammonby has gone for another duck, caught in the slips off the ever excellent Ryan Higgins. And at Canterbury, WCOTY Darren Stevens has struck in his second over: Tom Kohler-Cadmore has been caught behind for a breezy 14.
11.13am BST
Our man Ali Martin points out that there will be 100 overs today, to make up for some of the time that will be lost on Saturday.
Matches will pause on Saturday between 14:50 and 16:10 on Saturday 17 April, to coincide with the funeral of HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh. pic.twitter.com/AoR70tz9vL
11.10am BST
Glamorgan (0-1) v Sussex
It didn’t take Ollie Robinson long to get in and amongst: he has trapped Nick Selman LBW with the third ball of the match in Cardiff.
11.07am BST
Olly Stone v Haseeb Hameed should be good
LIVE STREAMS!
Come and watch your county in action: https://t.co/SyebMiubg3#LVCountyChamp pic.twitter.com/0nNoBr21Rm
11.03am BST
Well that escalated quickly
WICKET: Browne goes without score and Essex are 0-1 in the first over.#ESSvDUR
10.56am BST
Before we start, this, on everyone’s favourite subject, is well worth a read.
Related: Outs not wickets? Linguistic leg-spin won’t make people fall in love with cricket | Daniel Harris
10.55am BST
Nine men have tossed a coin, nine socially distanced counterparts have called head or tails, and this is the result.
10.47am BST
Darren Stevens is 44 years 350 days old. It’s never too late. Fair enough, it probably is too late - no offence, but look at you - but what a charming story.
Morning Rob, morning everyone, MORNING CRICKETER OF THE YEAR DARREN STEVENS!
Was anyone not entirely delighted by that news? It's the joy we all needed. Stevo!
10.42am BST
Morning Rob and friends, have followed the Warwickshire bus to arguably the country’s most significant sporting hubs - Trent Bridge - for what feels a win-win toss from the neutral’s perspective (am claiming this, being both Nottingham-born but now based in leafy south Brum). If Notts bat, we get to see the returning Olly Stone steaming in; should they field, it’s the returning Stuart Broad versus newly minted Wisden cricketer of the year Dom Sibley makes for an enticing new-ball battle.
Who knows, we might see all this today and more with plenty of good players on both sides. The sun is shining, the boundary looks extraordinarily short where that New Stand along the Bridgford Road slices diagonally across, and the teams - who both drew last week - are doing their usual flea circus warm-up drills on the outfield. Nice.
10.26am BST
And here’s a statgasm to set the mood
The first official County Championship match was in 1890. The first Sheffield Shield match was in 1892. Today is the first time that there has been play in both competitions on the same day.
10.24am BST
Happy Wisden Day! The 2021 Almanack is published today, a sylphlike 1,248-page edition because of Covid. But life moves pretty fast, even in the genteel world of county cricket, and a little bit of Wisden 2022 will be written today. The second round of fixtures in the modified County Championship start at 11am, and here’s what we’ve got to look forward to, with added sponsorship details:
Group 1
Continue reading...April 13, 2021
PSG 0-1 Bayern Munich (agg: 3-3): Champions League quarter-final, second leg – as it happened
Eric Choupo-Moting’s goal was not enough for the holders, who went out on the away goals rule after another stunning end-to-end contest
10.08pm BST
The great Paul Doyle has filed his match report, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company and emails across two spellbinding matches. Goodnight!
Related: Paris Saint-Germain progress to semi-finals despite Choupo-Moting winner
10.02pm BST
In the other tie, Chelsea went through against Porto as expected, though they were beaten 1-0 on the night. They’ll play Real Madrid or Liverpool in the semis.
Related: Chelsea v Porto: Champions League quarter-final, second leg – live!
9.57pm BST
Blimey. After all that, Paris Saint-Germain will play Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund in the semis. If this estimable, wildly emotional victory doesn’t make them believe they can win the Champions League, nothing ever will.
9.56pm BST
PSG have put the holders Bayern out in one of the greatest European quarter-finals of all time. Neymar is growling with delight, Mbappe smiling, and Mauricio Pochettino is embracing all his players with considerable feeling. There is so much mutual respect in the post-match hugs and handshakes between the two sets of players. It was a stunning game - not quite as eventful as last week, but even more dramatic because so much was at stake.
9.53pm BST
Chapeau.
9.51pm BST
90+3 min Sane twists Bakker inside out again, this time in the area, but he picks the wrong cross and Navas stretches to claim at the near post.
9.50pm BST
90+2 min Hernandez makes a superb last-ditch tackle on Neymar, who looked set to finally score the goal he has threatened all night. Mbappe was square, desperate for a pass, but Hernandez did so well to partially block it off and make Neymar’s mind up for him.
9.49pm BST
90+1 min Sane’s inswinging cross is headed miles wide by Coman, who had to jump towards the ball at a very awkward angle. I think he was trying to knock it square to Musiala.
9.48pm BST
90 min Herrera is booked. Four minutes of added time.
9.48pm BST
89 min PSG are so close to an immense, triumphant defeat. Mbappe breaks one on one with Hernandez down the left, turns and plays the ball infield for Neymar, who is haring up in support with no Bayern outfield players near him. Neuer sprints outside his area and slides to poke the ball away from Neymar.
9.46pm BST
88 min Another PSG change: Angel Di Maria, who has had a terrific game, is replaced by Ander Herrera.
9.45pm BST
87 min Javi Martinez is playing as a centre forward.
9.45pm BST
86 min After a bit of pinball in the PSG area, Muller’s low shot is blocked by Kimpembe. The flag went up soon after, though whether that was for an offside before or after Muller’s shot I’ve no idea. It was a good chance for Muller: 12 yards out, in space, with the ball rolled slowly back towards him.
9.44pm BST
86 min “It’s been maligned, but situations like this for me show the value of the away goals rule,” says Paul McGrory. “A goal for Munich and the swing is huge, PSG go from in to out with no inbetween. Can’t think of another scenario in football where the draw or extra time is so removed, and you can see it affect the tension and intensity of the game.”
Yep. I feel slightly guilty for loving it, but I love it.
9.43pm BST
85 min A slightly strange Bayern substitution: Javi Martinez is on for Choupo-Moting.
9.42pm BST
84 min Coman’s shot deflects behind for a corner. The level of desperation is quite something.
9.42pm BST
83 min AT THE OTHER BLOODY END, Di Maria cuts inside on the edge of the area and has a shot blocked.
9.41pm BST
82 min: So close from Sane! He twisted Bakker inside out, a textbook bit of skill, and guided a cross-shot just wide of the far post. Muller was desperate for a square ball but Sane hedged his bets with the cross-shot.
9.39pm BST
81 min A free-kick to Bayern on the left wing. Kimmich’s dangerous inswinger is headed up in the air by a PSG defender, and then a panicked Navas runs into his own man Paredes and flattens him. The referee, bizarrely, gives a free-kick against Bayern for the foul by the PSG goalkeeper Navas on the PSG midfielder Paredes.
9.38pm BST
79 min Mbappe threatens to go through again, this time legitimately, and Hernandez does superbly to dispossess him.
9.37pm BST
78 min: Mbappe has a goal disallowed! He was put through by Neymar, just past the halfway line, and charged through on Neuer before roofing the ball spectacularly. Then the flag went up, and VAR confirmed it was the correct decision.
9.36pm BST
77 min Neymar spins a majestic pass out to Kean with the outside of his left foot. He runs confidently at Pavard in the area ... and then wallops the ball into orbit.
9.34pm BST
76 min Lots of Bayern pressure now. You’d hope so, in the circumstances.
9.33pm BST
74 min Boateng fouls Neymar on the halfway line. One thing Neymar has done very well tonight, apart from hit the woodwork, is to draw fouls, with each one eating up time and stalling Bayern’s momentum.
9.32pm BST
74 min Normally in this situation, the popular cliche is ‘Bayern will get one chance, it’s up to them to take it’. But in this game, I’m tempted to say that each team will get at least five more chances.
9.30pm BST
73 min A PSG change: Julian Draxler off, Moise Kean on.
9.30pm BST
72 min “All this ‘attacking play’ and ‘quality’ and ‘excitement’ is all well and good,” says Matt Dony, “but it’s no 2003 final, is it? Proper, pure football.”
Related: Juventus 0 - 0 Milan (aet; Milan won 3-2 on penalties)
9.29pm BST
71 min The marvellous Jamal Musiala comes on to replace Alphonso Davies. That means Alaba will go to left-back.
9.28pm BST
69 min Sane’s very deep cross from the right hangs in the air forever on its way to the unmarked Coman.He cushions a careful header into the six-yard box, where Paredes makes a desperate clearance just in front of ... a Bayern player, I haven’t a clue who it was and I’m not rewinding it because I’ll probably miss four goals.
9.27pm BST
69 min Mbappe concedes a corner, which sums up how hard PSG are working defensively, and how desperate they are to see this through. Nothing comes of the corner.
9.26pm BST
68 min Muller is booked for a late tackle on Paredes, who takes the opportunity to waste 20 seconds. Every little helps.
9.25pm BST
66 min The ghosts of Champions League past must be running riot in the heads of the PSG players. But if they get through this, they’ll feel like they beat anyone and finally win the bloody thing.
9.23pm BST
65 min Draxler’s dangerous low cross is claimed well by Neuer.
9.22pm BST
63 min Choupo-Moting is penalised for fouling Dagba as they jumped for a deep cross. That looked like a 50/50 call, and had the referee not blown his whistle, Coman would have had a clear shot from 10 yards.
9.21pm BST
62 min: Chance for Bayern! Sane cuts inside Bakker and angles a stunning pass into the area for Muller, who runs on the blind side of Kimpembe and twists to hit a first-time shot that is crucially smothered by Navas. The ball rebounds off Muller and behind for a goalkick. If Navas was at fault for the goal, he’s partially made up for it with two or three terrific saves since.
9.19pm BST
61 min Can’t we just put them both through, like they do in Masterchef?
9.18pm BST
60 min A reminder, as if you need one, that PSG are ahead on the away goals rule.
9.17pm BST
59 min Mitchel Bakker replaces Diallo at left-back.
9.17pm BST
58 min “Please pass along to Mr. Bommen that if he can stand listening to Spanish commentary, Champions League games can be watched over the air on Univision,” says Matt Burtz (and a few others - thanks).
9.16pm BST
57 min An injury blow for PSG. Abdou Diallo’s left hamstring can take no more, and he’s going to have to come off.
9.14pm BST
55 min Dagba is booked for fouling Coman.
9.13pm BST
53 min: GLORIOUS BLOODY FOOTBALL SKILL AND DRAMA! Mbappe, on the left edge of the area, drives a superb angled pass to Di Maria, eight yards from goal at the far post. He controls it on the chest, then shifts it away from Davies in the same movement. Neuer flies out so Di Maria pokes the ball through his legs and across the face of goal, where the stretching Neymar is this close to putting it into the empty net. “That’s a Paul Gascoigne moment,” says the BT Sport commentator Paul Dempsey. Indeed it was. The skill from Di Maria was glorious.
9.11pm BST
53 min Alaba is booked for pulling back Neymar. He wasn’t on a card going into the game.
9.11pm BST
52 min I feel like I’ve used the phrase ‘at the other end’ more in this tie than ever before, such is the speed with which the game moves from one end to the other. Talking of which, at the other end Coman shoots high and wide from 25 yards.
9.10pm BST
52 min Neuer charges from his area to beat Mbappe to yet another through ball. To say Bayern are living on the edge is an appreciable understatement.
9.09pm BST
50 min At the other end, Pavard’s cross deflects behind for a corner. The pace is spectacular; it’s like a basketball game being played at 1.5x speed. Early doors and all, but this has to be up there with the greatest European Cup quarter-finals ever played.
Related: The Joy of Six: European Cup quarter-finals
9.07pm BST
49 min A PSG free-kick is half cleared to Paredes, 35 yards from goal. He flips a nice pass over the defence to Neymar, who takes it down elegantly on the chest and lifts a half-volley over the bar. That was a really tough chance, for most people anyway.
9.06pm BST
47 min Sane’s fast, flat cross just evades the head of Muller, stooping forward at the near post. Choupo-Moting, at the far post, can’t kill an awkward ball and it eventually rebounds to the edge of the area. Alaba picks up possession and sweeps a fine shot just wide of the far post. This is deliciously tense.
9.05pm BST
47 min “Not sure how you can call that Navas save a mistake before Choupo-Oting headed it in,” says Robert Lin. “He did incredibly well just to keep out the shot in the first place. Why Alaba was alone in eight yards out is the real question. Navas is the only reason PSG are still in this tie.”
You might be right Mrs Navas, I’ll have another look. We barely get time to look at a replay, never mind form a watertight opinion, when the game is this eventful.
9.04pm BST
46 min Peep peep!
9.03pm BST
“I’m just wondering who you had to kiss up to at Guardian Towers to get this MBM,” says Espen Bommen. “You are actually getting PAID to watch this! Over here in the US it’s on a streaming channel so I am paying $10 a month for basically just the Champions League. This game is worth every penny!!”
We’re very lucky, it’s true, but working in the MBM bunker isn’t without its downsides.
8.50pm BST
Half-time reading
Related: David Squires on … how a streaker tried to end the great Alexander-Arnold Wars
8.50pm BST
That was another mesmeric 45 minutes. Neymar hit the post twice and the bar for PSG, who were terrifyingly incisive on the break. Bayern smothered PSG and created plenty of half and three-quarter chances before the much maligned Eric Choupo-Moting headed them in front after a mistake from Keylor Navas. PSG are still on course for the semi-finals, just. More, please!
8.48pm BST
45+2 min: Sane misses an excellent chance! He broke dangerously into the area, hugging the ball on his left as Diallo (I think) backpedalled. Eventually he opened his body to steer a curling shot towards the far corner. At least that was the plan: it was straight at Navas and he saved comfortably.
8.47pm BST
45 min Two minutes of added time. CAN WE NOT MAKE IT TWO YEARS PLEASE.
8.45pm BST
45 min The resulting corner leads to a brief game of head tennis in the PSG area. They really need half-time.
8.45pm BST
44 min PSG are still ahead in the tie, but only on the away goals rule. Alaba tries to change that with a sweet, swirling strike from 25 yards that is pushed away by the flying Navas. That’s a fine save.
8.43pm BST
42 min Mbappe beats two defenders with a series of stepovers and drags a low shot just wide of the far post. The referee had blown for something, I think obstruction by Neymar on a Bayern defender, so it wouldn’t have counted.
8.42pm BST
It came down the Bayern left, where Coman - who has had a great first half - beat Dagba and crossed into the middle. Muller steered the bouncing ball deftly into the path of Alaba, whose low shot from eight yards was saved by Navas. But he could only spoon the ball up in the air, and Choupo-Moting muscled Kimpembe out of the way and headed into the net from close range. That’s a mistake from Navas.
8.40pm BST
And now Bayern have taken the lead!
8.40pm BST
39 min: Now Neymar hits the post! This is extraordinary. Neymar played a fine pass to release Mbappe, who gave it back to Neymar in the area. He slid a low shot that beat Neuer and hit the post. I’d love to describe it in more detail, but there’s no time because...
8.39pm BST
39 min Bayern don’t have many attacking options on the bench, just Jamal Musiala really. They are starting to look a little desperate.
8.38pm BST
37 min: Neymar hits the bar! Ah that was sheer delightful football. Di Maria’s free-kick was headed away to Neymar, 25 yards out in the inside-left channel. He chopped the ball behind his standing leg to beat Coman, then moved inside on his right foot and shaped a delicious curling shot that hit the top of the bar.
8.36pm BST
36 min Boateng is penalised for roughhousing Mbappe on the left wing. Bayern haven’t a clue how to defend against him.
8.35pm BST
35 min Replays suggest that Neymar shot’s in fact hit the post. I’m not sure whether Neuer got a touch as well - and either way I think he had it covered - but it definitely hit the post.
8.34pm BST
34 min Neuer denies Neymar for the third time tonight. Neymar hypnotised Hernandez on the edge of the area with a series of stepovers, then shifted the ball inside and crashed a left-footed shot towards the near post. Neuer plunged to his left to push it away.
8.33pm BST
34 min This is a good spell for PSG, their best of the match.
8.32pm BST
32 min Mbappe, just inside the Bayern half, is wrongly flagged offside after being put through on the right wing by Di Maria. It’s hard to see Mbappe going the full 90 minutes without getting a one on one.
8.31pm BST
31 min This is so good. The pace of the game is barely legal.
8.29pm BST
28 min Neymar beats Hernandez with a brilliant turn, then falls over and appeals for a penalty. Both players were pulling each other’s shirts, so the referee gives nothing.
8.28pm BST
27 min: Brilliant save from Neuer! A stunning counter-attack from PSG almost ends in a goal. Di Maria curled a crisp pass down the left to Mbappe, who beat the offside trap and played a superb square ball to the unmarked Neymar on the other side of the area. Neuer charged from his line to block the shot. Mbappe needed eyes in the side of his head to see that pass.
8.27pm BST
27 min Now Kimmich drives just wide from 20 yards after Bayern win the ball high up the field. His scream of frustration tells you that it was a pretty decent opportunity. PSG really need a breather, or a goal.
8.26pm BST
26 min A majestic flick from Choupo-Moting finds Sane, charging infield from the right. He manipulates the ball nicely on the run but then curls tamely wide from 20 yards. That was a decent chance.
8.25pm BST
25 min Danilo makes two important clearances in the space of 10 seconds. Bayern are applying a helluva lot of pressure now.
8.24pm BST
23 min Coman, who has started superbly, wins the ball 30 yards from the PSG goal and finds Muller on the left of the penalty area. His low cross is cleared. After a slowish start, this is beginning to engage the viscera.
8.22pm BST
22 min Coman beats Dagba with a lovely feint and stabs a cross that hits Danilo and goes behind for a corner. I think the ball hit his arm, though it was down by his side and there’s no VAR interruption. Kimmich’s corner is headed away by Mbappe. Bayern are starting to rev up.
8.21pm BST
21 min “With all due respect to Princes,” begins Peter Oh, “could the PSG ground be renamed Parc des Bus, just for today?”
8.20pm BST
19 min Kimmich sprays a terrific pass out to Coman on the left. He plays in the overlapping Davies, whose cutback misses everyone at the near post. The ball comes to Kimmich, backing up the play on the edge of the area, but his touch is slightly too heavy. PSG break terrifyingly, three on three, but Di Maria’s scoop over the defence runs through to Neuer.
8.18pm BST
18 min Di Maria is receiving treatment after being fouled by Davies. He’s in quite a lot of pain but is going to continue.
8.15pm BST
15 min Davies zips infield and finds Choupo-Moting, whose touch lets him down on the edge of the area. He looks like a man who is painfully aware of who he is replacing.
8.13pm BST
13 min It’s been a relatively comfortable start for PSG. Bayern have had their moments but there hasn’t been the onslaught that Mauricio Pochettino would have feared. Yet.
8.11pm BST
11 min “Gotta love those Sopranos malapropisms (see 19.28),” says Michal Pac Pomarnacki. “My favourite one is Little Carmine’s ‘the sacred and the propane’ closely followed by Bobby’s ‘Quasimodo predicted all this’.”
8.10pm BST
9 min At the other end, Mbappe scorches past Pavard and cuts the ball back towards Neymar at the near post. Hernandez gets there first, but his clearance hits Kimmich and rebounds towards Neymar on the six-yard line. His shot on the turn is very well smothered by Neuer.
8.09pm BST
9 min Bayern are looking dangerous. Sane cuts inside from the right, past three players, and angles a pass to Coman on the left side of the area. His first-time cross is poor and PSG clear, for about two seconds. Kimmich picks up the loose ball and floats it into the area, where Muller arrives and tries to find Choupo Moting with a clever backheader. He gets too much on it and Navas claims.
8.08pm BST
7 min Coman runs onto a long ball down the left and plays it back to Choupo-Moting just inside the area. He dithers for half a second and is crowded out by PSG defenders. That wasn’t a bad opportunity.
8.06pm BST
6 min Bayern are trying to pin PSG back, as they did for most of the first leg. The full-backs Davies and Pavard have already had plenty of the ball in the final third.
8.04pm BST
3 min Neymar plays the ball down the right wing to Mbappe, who looks offside but is allowed to continue and leaves everyone in his slipstream. He cuts into the area and drives a low shot across the face of goal. The angle was really tight, so it wasn’t much of a chance.
8.01pm BST
1 min Kimmich, who will miss the first leg of the semi-final if he is booked, leaves an early one on Paredes.
8.00pm BST
1 min Peep peep! Bayern kick off from left to right. Both teams are wearing their home strips.
7.58pm BST
The players stand to attention for the Champions League theme. Most shift on the spot; Kylian Mbappe stares straight ahead, like the killer he is. What a bloody footballer.
7.57pm BST
“Prediction, Rob?” says John Ryan. “I see a PSG win; in games like this where everyone is focusing on one team (here Bayern) needing to win and how, it so often ends up being the other (here PSG) who ends up strolling it...”
If Bayern don’t pick up any more injuries, I think they’ll do it. But - newsflash - I don’t really have a clue.
7.28pm BST
“At 63, and a Spurs supporter since 1967, I became a PSG fan the moment Poch took over,” writes Michael A. “I will never forgive Levy for not backing him and hiring Jose. Wouldn’t it be the coldest meal ever served should Poch win the CL?”
That’s what they say.
7.09pm BST
Pre-match reading
Related: Pochettino urges PSG to boost home form in Bayern Munich test
6.52pm BST
PSG make one change from the first leg: Leandro Paredes, available again after suspension, replaces the injured Marquinhos. Danilo, who started in midfield in Munich, will move into the back four. Marco Verratti is on the bench after recovering from Covid.
Bayern have made two changes, both enforced. The injured Niklas Sule and Leon Goretzka are replaced by Alphonso Davies and Jerome Boateng. That means David Alaba will move into midfield alongside Joshua Kimmich. Bayern’s injury list is such that they have only seven substitutes, most of them very inexperienced.
6.42pm BST
The permutations
Bayern need to win by two clear goals, or by any margin having scored at least four. Unlikely, but not beyond the realms given last week’s excitement.
6.11pm BST
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich from the Parc des Princes. If this game is half as entertaining as the first leg, then it’ll be 50 per cent as exciting. That match, which ended 3-2 to PSG, was a classic of its kind; a week later I am still struggling to recall a game with so few lulls in the action.
Tonight’s match could be even more exhilarating, mainly because the stakes are higher. There are no second chances; by 11pm tonight, one of the favourites will be out of the Champions League. And last week’s result means that, unless we get to the stage where Bayern lead 3-2 tonight, the tie will never be level. One of the teams will always need a goal (or two, in Bayern’s case, as things stand) to avoid elimination.
Continue reading...The Fiver | Five goals, 37 shots, 16 corners and 472 little Fiver moans
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The Fiver feels unclean. Admittedly this is not an unprecedented state of affairs, literally or figuratively, but we’ve got to write about something so that’ll do. You see, we feel guilty about our relationship with Big Cup. On the one hand, we loathe everything it represents, and are 110% disgusted by the Even More Greed Is Even Better proposals to make elite football even less jeapordous. But then we watch a game like Bayern 2-3 PSG, making funny little moaning noises throughout, and it makes us feel so darn euphoric. Deriving such visceral pleasure from something we essentially detest is the closest the Fiver has come to having one of those lovebuddies we keep reading about it in Granny Fiver’s lifestyle magazines.
Related: Fran Kirby to NLD derby: the best five moments from first 10 years of WSL | Suzanne Wrack
Continue reading...April 12, 2021
Brighton 0-0 Everton: Premier League – as it happened
The home side dominated possession throughout but struggled to create clear chances in an uneventful goalless draw at the Amex
10.19pm BST
Nick Ames was our man at the Amex Stadium tonight. I’ll leave you with his match report, and say a largely sincere thanks for your company and emails. Goodnight!
Related: Brighton edge towards safety after stalemate with depleted Everton
10.07pm BST
I’ve seen worse 0-0s. I’d say it was uneventful rather than poor. The quality was reasonably good, but there were very few chances. An under-strength Everton defended admirably and almost stole the points in injury time. The draw lifts Brighton above Burnley into 15th. Everton stay eighth, though they have a game in hand on all the teams above them. In the context of the season it’s a better result for Brighton; in the context of the game, and especially their injury list, it’s a better result for Everton.
10.05pm BST
Peep peep!
10.05pm BST
90+3 min Gross’s free-kick hits the wall, Trossard’s follow-up is blocked, and that’s the end of that.
10.04pm BST
90+1 min Holgate fouls Gross 25 yards from goal and is booked. The free-kick, which is to the left of centre, will probably be the last kick of the game.
10.03pm BST
90+1 min In the first of two added minutes, Iwobi shuffles across the edge of the Brighton area and drives just over the bar with his left foot. That would have been an affront to the run of play had it gone in.
10.02pm BST
89 min Gross slides the ball into Lallana, 20 yards from goal. He looks for a pass, realises the Everton defenders are all backpedalling and tries a shot instead. It’s a decent effort, just over the bar, though Olsen had it covered.
10.00pm BST
88 min A double change for Brighton: Dan Burn and Ali Jahanbakhsh replace Moder and Maupay. And Everton bring on
Harry Maguire
Nathan Broadhead for Tom Davies.
9.59pm BST
87 min Brighton continue to try to find an eye in the Everton needle. I’m not sure there is one. If there’s one thing Brighton haven’t done enough tonight, it’s get round the back.
9.57pm BST
84 min Trossard’s free-kick, hit in the David Luiz style, deflects behind for yet another corner. Gross’s inswinger ricochets around the six-yard box before being cleared.
9.55pm BST
82 min Keane gives the ball to Welbeck in a dangerous area, then ploughs straight through him in a desperate attempt to redeem the error. He got the ball but he also got the man, and he is booked. More to the point, it’s a free-kick to Brighton 25 yards from goal.
9.54pm BST
82 min “With 5/6ths of the game played, the only reference in the whole MBM to VAR isn’t even anything to do with tonight’s game,” says Colin Young. “Should we celebrate or something?”
Yes. Let’s go to Stephen Carr’s local.
9.54pm BST
81 min Everton almost pilfer a goal on the break. Sigurdsson’s well-struck volley from the edge of the area is blocked by Dunk, then Davies drives over from 20 yards.
9.52pm BST
80 min Brighton have been much the better attacking team, but Everton’s defensive performance has been close to immaculate. All their young defenders must be learning so much from working with Carlo Ancelotti. And their old ones, for that matter.
9.51pm BST
79 min Here’s Ian Copestake, who may or may be a Liverpool fan, on the subject of Adam Lallana. “Reading the words ‘it’s lovely to see him have a run of games without injury’ evoked horror images of Lallana being put through one on one with the Everton goalkeeper!”
9.51pm BST
78 min Gross’s corner is only half cleared. Lallana helps it back into the area and Dunk twists his neck to steer a looping header that is tipped over acrobatically by Olsen. That was a pretty good save.
9.50pm BST
77 min Trossard cuts inside a couple of Everton defenders in the area and hits a shot that deflects wide off Davies.
9.49pm BST
76 min A double chance for Brighton! First Welbeck’s shot is brilliantly blocked by the sliding Godfrey; then Bissouma surges into the area from the left and crosses low to Maupay, who flicks the ball up but then cracks it wide from eight yards. That was Brighton’s best chance of the match.
9.48pm BST
75 min Mason Holgate has had a fine game for Everton in two different positions - first as a holding midfielder and now at centre-back. Whenever I watch Everton he looks really accomplished.
9.45pm BST
72 min James’s corner is headed away. I’m still cooing about his first touch a moment ago, which was essentially two in one - he controlled an awkward ball and pushed it away from Dunk at the same time.
9.44pm BST
71 min Coleman clips a left-footed cross towards James in the area. He takes it down majestically on the run, away from Dunk, and screws a shot from a very tight angle that is clawed behind by Sanchez.
9.43pm BST
70 min Trossard cuts the ball back from the byline towards Lallana, whose shot is crucially blocked by Coleman. Lallana has been really sprightly tonight; it’s lovely to see him have a run of games without injury. The resulting corner is headed towards Moder on the edge of the area, and he lashes the bouncing ball towards Falmer.
9.41pm BST
68 min The paradox of this game is that Brighton are the team pushing for the win, yet Everton are the ones who really need three points. But you can understand Everton’s approach given their recent form and particularly their injury list. Gary Naylor’s turned his phone on for heaven’s sake!
9.39pm BST
67 min For the third time this half Welbeck is denied by some good defending, on this occasion a header at the far post by the stretching Holgate. Brighton work a really nice training-ground corner, with Lallana angling a sharp pass back to Moder on the edge of the area. His first-time shot whistles just over the bar.
9.38pm BST
65 min “I realize this has nothing whatsoever to do either with your MBM labour or the match at hand,” boasts Alex Moffett, “but can I just register the unalloyed delight I experienced when I discovered today that a Finnish composer wrote a symphonic tone poem about Duncan Ferguson’s career? How could I not have known about this?”
That is… I don’t know what it is, but I love it. I hope there’s a crescendo that evokes Big Dunc’s earnest attempt to throttle Steffen Freund.
9.37pm BST
64 min I’m running out of ways to say that Brighton are dominating without really creating much.
9.35pm BST
62 min “Evening Rob,” says Stephen Carr. “Events at the Amex not even coming remotely close to the drama at my local. Two police vans and a flurry of cars on the scene before teatime. This country.”
I bet VAR was involved in the discussions that led to the fisticuffs that led to the police vans.
9.33pm BST
61 min Gross’s corner leads to a game of head tennis in the Everton area, until Olsen spoils it all by grabbing the ball.
9.33pm BST
60 min After good play from Trossard and Lallana, Coleman takes the ball off Welbeck’s toes in the area. Brighton are getting closer.
9.32pm BST
59 min “I am here to state, under the threat of MBM banishment, that the ‘so called’ Mary Waltz lives in California, that the Guardian has no control of my posting output, that I am retired and thus have the time to vent so often, in such an amateur fashion, that it is given freely, and that I have no influence on the potential labor exploitation of the official MBM writers,” writes, well, Mary Waltz.
9.30pm BST
58 min Mina is replaced by Iwobi. Holgate moves to centre-back.
9.29pm BST
57 min It looks like yet another injury for Everton: Yerry Mina is down with a muscle problem, and Alex Iwobi is getting ready to replace him.
9.28pm BST
55 min Terrific defending from Godfrey, who charges back to stop Welbeck reaching Maupay’s clever reverse pass.
9.26pm BST
54 min Bissouma is given a final warning after inflicting pin on James Rodriguez.
9.24pm BST
52 min Dunk is booked for a cynical foul on Richarlison.
9.23pm BST
50 min Gross’s corner is headed away.
9.22pm BST
49 min Brighton are dominating possession at the start of the second half, as they did for much of the first. Lallana plays a sharp pass into Maupay, who turns smartly on the edge of the area and flicks a shot with the outside of the foot that deflects behind for a corner.
9.19pm BST
46 min Bissouma shoots over from long range. And why not.
9.18pm BST
46 min Peep peep! Brighton begin the second half.
9.16pm BST
“Evening Rob,” says Graham Moger. “Reading Matt Dony’s understandably sympathetic email, he obviously isn’t aware (unlike those of us that are part of the MBM cognoscenti), that you are in fact sharing the ‘minute by minute’ writing tasks with the so-called Mary Waltz. Correct? I claim my five pounds.”
I thought Mary Waltz was Gary Naylor. And what letter comes after G? Exactly.
9.15pm BST
“I can’t see it happening,” says Geoff Wignall, “but Brighton and Aguerro look like such a perfect fit.”
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but is his link play good enough? Maupay is a very neat footballer. Depends on the system I suppose.
9.05pm BST
“Nice to see MBM regulars standing up for our zero (social) hours MBMers,” says Ian Copestake. “Scott Murray was no sooner finished whispering about dimple lengths at Augusta all weekend than he was dragged in to watch West Brom.”
As I said, it doesn’t bode well to speak openly about such things. It’s important thy know I didn’t speak. That’s right, isn’t it, DI Copestake? I didn’t. Talk.
9.04pm BST
Half-time reading
Related: Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action
9.03pm BST
Peep peep! No goals and no clear chances, though the match was better than that bald summary suggests. It’s been a typical Brighton home performance to date - plenty of style, not enough substance.
9.01pm BST
45 min One minute of added time.
9.00pm BST
44 min “Speaking of looking at the Everton bench, who is Broadhead?” says Peter Oh. “This league ain’t big enough for two Harry Maguires!”
8.59pm BST
43 min Bissouma makes a terrific blindside tackle on Sigurdsson, who was about to shoot from the edge of the area after running onto a return pass from Coleman.
8.57pm BST
41 min Bissouma plays a good angled ball to find Lallana in a bit of space, 30 yards from goal. He tries to feed Maupay in the area, but the pass is slightly behind him and the ball runs through to Olsen.
8.55pm BST
39 min “Having seen the Everton bench, I’m going to have the phone switched on and at hand come Thursday in case Carlo needs me for Friday’s match,” says Gary Naylor. “Big Duncan is already 6/4 for anytime goalscorer.”
8.55pm BST
38 min Maupay drags a clever little pass round the corner towards Lallana, but his shot from the edge of the area is easily saved by Olsen.
8.54pm BST
37 min “Rob,” says Matt Dony. “We’re all friends here. Are you ok? Blink twice if you need rescuing. The last week or so, it feels like every time I’ve opened the Guardian app, you’ve been at the helm of the good(!) ship MBM. Are they treating you ok? Do you get enough sunlight? Do you want me to write a charity single, to raise awareness of your plight?”
It doesn’t bode well to speak openly about such things.
8.50pm BST
34 min That’s a much better effort from Bissouma, an improvised overhead kick from the left side of the area that loops onto the roof of the net. Olsen slipped, so had it been on target it would probably have gone in.
8.48pm BST
32 min The corner is cleared as far as Bissouma, who launches one into orbit from 25 yards.
8.47pm BST
31 min Trossard’s cross deflects invitingly for Maupay, whose shot on the turn hits the falling Mina and flies past the far post. At first I thought it might have hit his arm, but there were no appeals for a penalty and replays suggested it was probably off his chest.
8.46pm BST
30 min Richarlison plays a good ball to release Coleman down the right. He scurries into space and lifts a cross towards Davies, who heads well wide from 12 yards. It wasn’t a convincing header, though it was a pretty difficult chance on the run.
8.43pm BST
26 min Nothing much to report. It’s not a bad game, just an uneventful one.
8.38pm BST
21 min So far it’s been a typical Brighton performance: lots of classy, confident passing and movement, but not enough penetration.
8.36pm BST
20 min Sanchez is okay.
8.34pm BST
18 min Sanchez miscontrols a backpass from Dunk and has to make a desperate tackle on Richarlison, who was sniffing a freebie. Sanchez may have injured himself in the process.
8.33pm BST
18 min Moments later Moder runs onto a headed clearance, 20 yards out, and cracks a good volley that goes not far wide of the near post.
8.33pm BST
17 min Lallana beats two players on the edge of the box and lifts the ball across to find Welbeck in space on the far side of the area. He has time to take the ball down and ask it its family history, but instead goes for a difficult first-time shot, with the ball bouncing awkwardly, and makes a mess of it.
8.31pm BST
15 min James blooters it over the bar. By his standards that was pretty poor.
8.30pm BST
14 min Coleman is flattened by Moder 22 yards from goal. The free-kick is to the right of centre, a very good position for James Rodriguez...
8.29pm BST
13 min A good little spell for Everton ends abruptly when Godfrey shoots from 25 yards.
8.28pm BST
12 min Sigurdsson finds Digne on the left. He dummies Gross and clips a good, deep cross that is headed away at the far post.
8.27pm BST
10 min “Very much agreed on the appeal of the Brighton kit,” says Luke Jones. “I’d vote that they be given an extra three points for just having a proper shirt collar. And every team that wears the weird overlapping reverse v-neck (like Liverpool‘s home kit) gets docked a point.”
I like this idea. But does it mean England are retrospectively disqualified from Euro 96? Did football not come home after all?
8.25pm BST
9 min Moder runs onto a crisp lay-off from Maupay, moves infield and drives well wide from 25 yards. It was nice football though.
8.24pm BST
7 min Brighton have started perkily, as they usually do. I’ve just realised that their shape is slightly different, too, more of a 3-4-3 than a 3-4-1-2. I can’t take all this tactical sophistication. This was never a problem when John Beck was at Cambridge.
Brighton (3-4-3) Sanchez; White, Dunk, Veltman; Gross, Lallana, Bissouma, Moder; Trossard, Maupay, Welbeck.
8.20pm BST
4 min Gross drops the second corner right under the crossbar, and Olsen punches away a little unconvincingly. He was under a lot of pressure, in his defence, and replays show he was clattered by his team-mate Mina. There’s a break in play while he is checked by the physio. He seems okay, though he’s rubbing the side of his head every few seconds.
8.19pm BST
3 min Gross’s corner is headed behind for another by Keane. While we wait for that, this is the revised Everton set up. Yes, I know it looks pretentious, with five different sections, but
just wait until I add the keeper in a 1-3-1-4-1-1
that’s how they’re lining up. I swear, by the moon and the stars and the sky.
Everton (3-1-4-1-1) Olsen; Godfrey, Mina, Keane; Holgate; Coleman, Davies, Sigurdsson, Digne; James; Richarlison.
8.18pm BST
2 min Lallana has an early crack from just outside the area. His shot hits Keane and deflects behind for a corner.
8.17pm BST
1 min Everton have started with Mason Holgate in midfield in a 3-5-1-1 system. In fact he has just fouled Bissouma after 26 seconds.
8.16pm BST
1 min Peep peep! Everton kick off from right to left.
8.15pm BST
“The bright start by the Toffees allowed Everton fans, myself included, to drop our traditional pessimism and actually hope for something better than mid table mediocrity,” says Mary Waltz. “Well it’s time to step up and produce. We have enough talent to finish fourth or fifth. If we don’t it would be a huge failure.”
8.14pm BST
The players are ready for action. Brighton are in their lovely home kit, one of the best of the 2020-21 Premier League season. Everton are wearing their seafoam green and charcoal (sic) third kit. There will be a two-minute silence to pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh.
8.12pm BST
Related: Pereira leads way as West Brom shrug off VAR blow to sink Southampton
8.06pm BST
It looks like Everton will play 3-4-2-1, but we’re not sure who will be the second central midfielder alongside Tom Davies. It’ll be one of Ben Godfrey, Lucas Digne and Mason Holgate.
8.06pm BST
“Hi Rob,” says Matt Burtz. “It’s difficult to figure out this Everton team. You noted their poor run at home, but away from Goodison they’ve defeated Tottenham, Leicester, Wolves, Leeds and Liverpool, and got a creditable draw at Manchester United. Their midfield is decimated by injury, they’ve overperformed their xG this entire season, and they haven’t won at Brighton since April 1983 (okay, they weren’t in the same league for most of that, but still). However, recent away trips have fallen into the ‘they’ll never win this game’ category and they rightly earned all three points (Wolves, Leeds, and Liverpool specifically). So I’m somewhat optimistic today even as they battle this season’s xG kings. Something’s gotta give, right?”
On that, subject, how much should we trust xG? I’ve already seen three different xG scores for Spurs v Man Utd yesterday, and I wasn’t looking particularly hard. The fact Liverpool didn’t win the xG Premier League last season is a pretty big red flag. But against that, it’s a good way of quantifying travesties like Brighton 1-2 Crystal Palace.
Related: 'It's beyond the model': have Liverpool exposed the limits of xG?
7.57pm BST
West Brom have hammered Southampton 3-0 to continue their recent improvement. There’s still a lot to do - they’re eight points off safety - but suddenly a Big Sam miracle doesn’t look impossible. If he pulls it off, we’ll all be getting the pints of wine in.
Related: West Brom v Southampton: Premier League – live!
7.41pm BST
The boss provides an injury update on Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Allan and Andre Gomes ahead of #BHAEVE...#EFC pic.twitter.com/7IUYTzFnG6
7.29pm BST
Pre-match reading, rendered largely irrelevant by the team news
Related: Calvert-Lewin criticism is fair despite his goals, says Carlo Ancelotti
7.19pm BST
Graham Potter has picked the same Brighton side that played well in defeat at Old Trafford last weekend. Everton are without a number of injured players, including Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Andre Gomes and Allan; their bench includes two 17-year-olds in Isaac Price and Reece Welch.
Brighton (3-4-1-2) Sanchez; White, Dunk, Veltman; Gross, Lallana, Bissouma, Moder; Trossard; Maupay, Welbeck.
Substitutes: Steele, Webster, Burn, Mac Allister, Alzate, Propper, Jahanbakhsh, Izquierdo, Zeqiri.
2.43pm BST
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Brighton v Everton from the Amex Stadium. Although Brighton are technically in a relegation battle, this feels like a bigger game for Everton, who urgently need to stop playing silly buggers if they are to secure a European place.
They have had some really disappointing results since the turn of the year, yet they are still in contention for the Champions League, never mind the Europa: if they win their two games in hand they will be only two points off fourth place. And almost all of this poor results have been at Goodison Park. Tonight they have the away advantage against a Brighton side that have almost picked up more points on the road.
Continue reading...April 11, 2021
Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Manchester United: Premier League – as it happened
Fred, Edinson Cavani and Mason Greenwood scored as Manchester United overwhelmed Spurs with an outstanding second-half performance
8.39pm BST
Related: Devilish Solskjær deals fiendish blow to Spurs’ Champions League hopes | Louise Taylor
6.58pm BST
That’s it for today’s blog. Jonathan Wilson was lucky enough to be at the game, and I’ll leave you with his match report. Thanks for your company, goodnight!
Related: Manchester United fight back in second half to secure victory at Tottenham
Related: Sheffield United v Arsenal: Premier League – live!
6.57pm BST
Here’s Jose Mourinho
“We played against a good team - lots of quality, lots of power - and they reacted [to going behind]. We had great opportunities to score the second goal. Dean [Henderson] made two very, very good saves, especially the one from Harry Kane. We were dominant at 2-1, but then they scored the third goal. My opinion is that it was a very good game and we did not deserve this result at all. But we lost against a very good team.
6.46pm BST
Mourinho’s first Chelsea team dropped only six points from winning positions in his first two seasons.
18 - Spurs have dropped 18 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, second only to Brighton (20). It’s the most points a José Mourinho side has dropped from winning positions in a single Premier League campaign. Susceptible. pic.twitter.com/SwAuY2BnnX
6.41pm BST
Here’s Scott McTominay
“It’s a brilliant win. We were frustrated at half-time but the message was clear from the manager: keep calm. That’s what he kept saying to the players, that there’s no need to panic. We’ve been here before, we know we have good characters in the team and good players who want to take the ball against a really difficult team.
6.34pm BST
One more game and then you can watch Line of Duty
Related: Sheffield United v Arsenal: Premier League – live!
6.29pm BST
That second-half performance is as well as United have played under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. They were sulking towards the end of the first half when a big VAR call went against them and then Son gave Spurs the lead, but they channelled it during half-time and played with ferocious purpose thereafter. Fred equalised - Fred equalised! - and then Mason Greenwood had a decisive impact. He set up a classic diving header for Edinson Cavani and sealed a deserved victory in injury-time. After a difficult second season, he is quietly hitting form at a very good time.
6.26pm BST
For the ninth time this season, and the eighth away from home, Manchester United come from behind to win a Premier League game.
6.25pm BST
Cavani played a short pass back to Pogba, 30 yards from goal. He beat Dier and Hojbjerg with some smart footwork and then slid the ball across to Greenwood on the edge of the area. Greenwood lost Reguilon with a typical stepover and smashed a right-footed shot that beat Lloris for pace aat the near post.
6.25pm BST
Mason Greenwood seals a glorious second-half performance!
6.24pm BST
90+5 min “Very satisfying,” says Ciarán Brennan, “seeing Solskjaer shut the game down with the most Mourinho signing ever in Matic.”
6.23pm BST
90+4 min Aurier is booked for flattening Shaw, a petulant foul that allows United to kill a bit more time.
6.23pm BST
90+3 min Reguilon makes an excellent lunging tackle on Greenwood, who played a one-two on Cavani and was almost through on goal.
6.22pm BST
90+3 min Pogba and Fred waste a bit omre time by keeping the ball in the Spurs half.
6.21pm BST
90+2 min Spurs are struggling to get any attacking momentum, and now Sissoko has been booked for a foul on Fred.
6.20pm BST
90+2 min “Mourinho has got to go,” write Mike and Jill Mahoney. “This is beyond a joke. It’s exactly the same every game. Get this toxic man out of my club now.”
I’m sensing rancour.
6.20pm BST
90+1 min There will be six minutes of added time.
6.19pm BST
90 min Another change for United: Nemanja Matic replaces Bruno Fernandes, who didn’t get a goal or assist but played an important part in both goals.
6.18pm BST
88 min “Pogba has, as you said, a fine game,” says Colum Farrelly. “His skills seem best deployed in front of the holding midfielders as opposed to with them. A bit like Gerrard under Benitez, I think.”
I’m not sure there’s a natural position for him in a 4-2-3-1, but I agree that you want him much further forward when possible, especially in games where you dominate possession.
6.16pm BST
86 min After a dreadful first half hour, this has been richly entertaining fare.
6.14pm BST
84 min: Cavani hits his own post! The corner was flicked on at the near post by Pogba, and Cavani, stretching desperately, headed it onto the post. He had to go for it, with Sissoko waiting behind him to score, and really had to strain his neck muscles to get enough on the ball to take it away from goal. Just.
6.12pm BST
83 min Now Spurs have to push for an equaliser. Aurier slides a very dangerous low cross that is belted behind by Lindelof, facing his own goal.
6.11pm BST
82 min Gareth Bale comes on for Lucas Moura, who was lively as always and made the opening goal for Son.
6.11pm BST
81 min United have been sensational in the second half. It’s even more impressive because they had totally lost the noggin at the end of the first half. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deserves so much credit for turning that petulance into a furious purpose.
6.09pm BST
The move started with some crisp short passing on the right wing. Then Bruno Fernandes nutmegged Reguilon to find Greenwood on the right corner of the area. He curled a stunning first-time cross to the far post, where Cavani flew through the air like Keith Houchen and slammed a header back across Lloris. What a brilliant goal.
6.08pm BST
A classic goal!
6.07pm BST
78 min A change for Spurs: Erik Lamela, the pantomime villain of the return fixture, comes on for Tanguy Ndombele.
6.06pm BST
77 min United win a free-kick 30 yards out. It’s the perfect distance for Rashford, but he’s off the field, so Fernandes plays it out to McTominay. His cross is blocked by Hojbjerg. Well done everyone.
6.05pm BST
75 min “I have no real view on the McTominay flick/slap/assault (delete as applicable),” says Tom Atkins, “but I do recall Manchester United’s current manager getting Sol Campbell sent off in 2003 for a similar fending off. It cost him a three match ban, a place in the FA Cup final and arguably the league (his backup was Pascal Cygan). If you hold a grudge long enough sometimes you get to enjoy moments like this.”
Well, that was an elbow to the forehead, which is slightly different. But it’s a good point and it was a huge story at the time. The only other thing I’d say is that Campbell was still available to play at Bolton, which was the decisive game in Arsenal’s collapse.
6.03pm BST
73 min The corner ricochets around the area until Aurier, five yards out, puts an overhead kick into orbit. He was in an offside position, though had he scored there would have been an argument over whether he was active the last time a Spurs player touched the ball. There’s always an argument.
6.02pm BST
73 min: Good save from Henderson! Son finds Kane near the byline on the left. He cuts inside and then hammers a disguised shot towards the near post. Henderson reacts smartly to kick it behind for a corner.
6.00pm BST
71 min Mason Greenwood comes on to replace a very weary Marcus Rashford.
6.00pm BST
71 min United have battered Spurs in the second half, but the score is 1-1 so they are still ripe for a Mourinho mugging. I don’t think Spurs have done the double over United since 1989-90, so it would be a worthy achievement.
5.59pm BST
70 min Maguire loses the ball to Kane, pulls him back and is booked.
5.57pm BST
68 min Shaw is booked for a foul on Lucas Moura.
5.57pm BST
67 min: What a chance for Pogba! A corner is half cleared, only as far as Shaw on the left. His deep cross picks out Fernandes, who cushions the ball across the six-yard line to Pogba. He tries a backheel towards goal that is blocked by Dier, and then falls over. He should probably have just tried a shot on the turn. It was a brilliant cross from Shaw in the first place, flicked nonchalantly with the outside of the foot. He is playing with stratospheric confidence the noo.
5.55pm BST
66 min United have dominated the game since half-time, playing with an impressively controlled aggression. I thought they might lose the plot after the way the first half ended.
5.53pm BST
63 min: Lovely save from Lloris! Bruno Fernandes picks up a loose ball 35 yards out and heads for goal. He gets to within 20 yards and cracks a left-footed shot across goal that is pushed away at full stretch by Lloris. That’s a brilliant stop.
5.51pm BST
62 min Henderson forces a pass behind Maguire towards Kane, and Henderson charges out of his area to clear. That was good goalkeeping; for a split-second it looked like Kane was through on goal.
5.50pm BST
61 min A change for Spurs, with Moussa Sissoko replacing Giovani Lo Celso.
5.50pm BST
60 min: Good save from Henderson! This is a cracking game now. Aurier’s shot was blocked by Lindelof and looped to Son on the other side of the area. He dragged a low shot through the legs of Wan-Bissaka that was kicked away by Henderson. “A de Gea save”, as Gary Neville observes on Sky Sports.
5.49pm BST
59 min Pogba, who has been superb in the second half, finds Fernandes on the right side of the area with a good pass, but Fernandes’s low cross is behind everyone and Spurs clear.
5.48pm BST
United sliced the Spurs defence apart with some beautiful short passing just outside the penalty area. Rashford, Fernandes and Fred were all involved. Eventually Fred put Cavani through on goal, and though his shot was saved superbly by Lloris, Fred followed up to score from close range.
5.46pm BST
Fred has scored a goal!
5.45pm BST
55 min A crisp sidefoot from McTominay, 25 yards out, is pushed away by Lloris as he falls to his left. It was a pretty comfortable save, but United are looking more dangerous than they did before the break.
5.44pm BST
54 min It’s easy to forget, with all the shouting about VAR, that this is an extremely important 35 minutes for Spurs. A win today would put them above Liverpool on goal difference and only four points behind Leicester in third.
5.42pm BST
53 min Pogba’s dangerous cross from the right is poked just wide of his own goal by Rodon. He had to go for it with Cavani behind him; Cavani was offside but Rodon couldn’t have known that. Shaw’s corner is cleared.
5.39pm BST
50 min What VAR has exposed is that nobody really knows how to apply the laws of the game, even the referees. Football is drowning in ambiguity.
5.39pm BST
49 min Shaw’s long cross finds Wan-Bissaka, whose volleyed cross from a tight angle turns into a shot. Lloris, well positioned, pushes it away at the near post.
5.37pm BST
48 min A slick move from United ends with Pogba playing the ball through to Rashford. He tries to work an angle for a shot but the Spurs defender, Dier I think, does really well to hold him up. At the other end, Kane chips over the bar from 20 yards, and Fred is booked for fouling Aurier in the build up.
5.35pm BST
46 min Peep peep! Spurs begin the second half. Fred dumps Ndombele on his derriere after nine seconds, so maybe United haven’t cooled off.
5.33pm BST
I’ve had a quick scan of the emails (thanks one and all). Roughly 60 per cent of you reckon it was a foul, 40 per cent say the game’s gone.
5.32pm BST
The issue isn’t whether it was a foul, it’s whether it was a ‘clear and obvious error’. The fact there is nothing resembling consensus suggests it probably wasn’t. But the bigger issue is the ruinous fasttracking of VAR. Had they trialled it properly, over a few years, it could have been a great thing. At the moment it’s about as rewarding as a smart speaker that senses when you’re on the cusp of orgasm, and at that precise moment starts playing your mother’s voice.
5.28pm BST
“It’s a flick in the face,” says Phil Beattie. “I honestly have no idea what you are watching. Son is a good yard behind McTominay - he isn’t ‘holding him off’. He throws his arm backwards and hits Son in the face. It’s a foul, and he’s really lucky not to get a second booking. Gary Neville might be confused but he’s not exactly neutral is he?”
I’m watching the same game as you, Phil. For what it’s worth, Manchester City alumnus Micah Richards and former Spurs midfielder Jamie Redknapp also thought it wasn’t a foul.
5.22pm BST
Half-time reading
And to think United need somebody to score a goal.
Related: European roundup: Matteo Darmian the hero as Inter close in on Serie A title
5.22pm BST
“You wrote, ‘Some of the behaviour in the last few months has been a bit pathetic,’” says Ingo Herzke. “While I fully agree with your sentiment in general and in particular, I don’t think that’s what you intended to write.”
I realised that a couple of minutes later and amended it to ‘minutes’, though on reflection I think I prefer ‘months’.
5.21pm BST
I’ve just checked and Kane was onside in the build-up to Son’s goal, so there’s no controversy there.
5.20pm BST
Another half dominated by VAR. Edinson Cavani had a goal controversially disallowed for a foul on Son, who then gave Spurs the lead a few minutes later.
5.18pm BST
45+2 min Fernandes’s cross just evades Cavani at the far post.
5.16pm BST
45+1 min Three minutes of added time.
5.16pm BST
45 min Martin Convery writes to say that Kane was offside in the build up to Son’s goal. I haven’t seen a replay but that would make an even greater mockery of this first half. Now Fernandes is saying Hojbjerg has elbowed him. Some of the behaviour in the last few minutes has been a bit pathetic, but it all stems from that disallowed goal.
5.15pm BST
44 min Rashford thinks he has won a corner but then finds out he has been penalised for a challenge on Son. United need half-time to cool off.
5.13pm BST
41 min: It’s kicking off! Cavani has been booked. He pushed Rodon over, then went back for more, at which point the players on both sides converged. United are in high dudgeon; even Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a murderous look on his face.
5.11pm BST
Ndombele fired a pass into Kane on the edge of the D. He half-volleyed a first-time pass around the corner to release Lucas Moura, with Lindelof getting in a tangle as he tried to intercept. Moura could have shot but instead slid the ball across the penalty area to Son, who beat Henderson from close range.
5.10pm BST
And now Son has given Spurs the lead!
5.09pm BST
39 min Kane wriggles away from Wan-Bissaka on the left of the area and drags a low cross that beats everyone in the middle.
5.09pm BST
38 min VAR, so much to answer for.
5.07pm BST
United are fuming, and you can understand why - I think that was a 50/50 call rather than a clear and obvious error. The only upside for United is that McTominay didn’t receive a second yellow card.
5.06pm BST
McTominay flicked his hand out, just to hold Son off, but he caught him in the face.
5.06pm BST
Chris Kavanagh is going to the monitor. Manchester United could lose a goal and a man here.
5.05pm BST
It’s still being checked by VAR. This could go either way.
5.05pm BST
McTominay definitely caught Son, though it was a hand-off more than anything. The goal was excellent: an imaginative short pass from Pogba to Cavani, who made a great run behind Dier and swept the ball past Lloris.
5.04pm BST
Cavani scores, but there’s a big but: Son is down holding his face after a challenge from McTominay, who has already been booked, in the build up.
5.04pm BST
33 min “I’m pretty sure we’ve entered a parallel universe,” says Stephen Carr, “where its Mourinho’s Utd v Mourinho’s Spurs.”
5.03pm BST
32 min Lo Celso sweeps Rashford’s feet from under him, right on the edge of the area, but the referee doesn’t deem it a foul. That doesn’t impress Rashford much.
5.02pm BST
31 min At this stage of the return game, Spurs were 2-1 up and Anthony Martial had been sent off.
4.59pm BST
29 min United’s passing and movement has been really sluggish. They look like a team who need the cattle prod of going behind.
4.58pm BST
28 min Pogba and Rashford have swapped again, so Pogba is back on the left.
4.57pm BST
27 min I’ll wake you up when something happens.
4.55pm BST
24 min Pogba and Rashford have switched wings.
4.53pm BST
23 min Bruno Fernandes tries to release Rashford with a long angled pass. Aurier does well to get across and intercept. It hasn’t been the greatest game so far, I won’t lie to you.
4.51pm BST
Related: Allan Saint-Maximin delivers blazing cameo as Newcastle beat Burnley
4.50pm BST
20 min Son wins another corner for Spurs, who have quietly been the better team in the first 20 minutes. Nothing comes of it.
4.48pm BST
18 min McTominay is booked for a hack at Ndombele. Poor tackle, that.
4.48pm BST
17 min Good defending from Dier! Fernandes’s long, angled ball from the right was headed down by Pogba to Cavani on the edge of the D. He cushioned a disguised half-volleyed pass to Rashford, who stormed into the area and smacked a shot that deflected behind off the sliding Dier.
4.46pm BST
15 min Lo Celso steals the ball off Pogba with a lovely, Giggs-like sliding tackle. Nothing comes of it but the tackle was too good not to mention.
4.45pm BST
15 min United haven’t really got going as an attacking unit. Spurs have been a bit better, with Lucas Moura especially lively.
4.44pm BST
Related: Jesse Lingard’s double sinks Leicester and fuels West Ham’s top-four dreams
4.43pm BST
12 min Shaw curls a good ball down the left to Fred, who tries to cut inside Aurier and slips over. And it was going so well.
4.40pm BST
10 min Lucas Moura’s cross is headed behind by Lindelof at the near post. It’s been a perky start from Spurs, but Lo Celso’s corner isn’t the best and Shaw clears.
4.39pm BST
9 min “If United were to sign Kane, I feel that his laser-focused desire for silverware would result in the goals needed to drive them to the title,” says Duncan Edwards. “The precedent being Robin van Persie.”
I know what you mean, although the gap to the champions wasn’t as big then.
4.39pm BST
8 min Aurier is down holding his face after wearing Pogba’s forearm. Nothing was given, and Aurier looks pretty aggrieved.
4.38pm BST
7 min Nothing much to report so far. It’s been quite an open start to the game though.
4.35pm BST
5 min Reguilon is shoved over by Rashford, but the referee Chris Kavanagh sees no evil. That was definitely a foul.
4.33pm BST
3 min Lo Celso’s corner is headed away to the edge of the area by McTominay. Son is first to the loose ball, albeit under pressure from Fred, and he slashes over on the half-volley.
4.32pm BST
2 min Spurs have started with Lo Celso as the No10 and Lucas Moura on the right. Moura has an early run and rifles a shot that goes behind off Luke Shaw.
4.31pm BST
1 min Peep peep! Manchester United kick off from left to right.
4.30pm BST
It looks like Paul Pogba is starting on the left, with Marcus Rashford as the right-sided attacker.
4.28pm BST
There will be a two-minute silence in memory of the Duke of Edinburgh.
4.26pm BST
The players are in the tunnel. Lucas Moura and Fred embrace, as do Edinson Cavani and Giovani Lo Celso. If only Graeme Souness’s internal monologue was on the red button.
4.21pm BST
“On the assumption that football with crowds will return for next season, United have a big opportunity to do what they have always done, which is to break the British transfer record,” says Rick Harris. “Forget Kane, he is unlikely to go to another PL outfit if he leaves Spurs. Haaland is the player United need to get if at all possible. Yes, he will cost big bucks, and yes he will demand the highest salary at the club, but he is the single player out there that can take United to the next level and score the goals they will need to lift the title.”
I’m not sure United can afford him this summer. Even if they can, I suspect Alfie will be as receptive to the idea as Jack Walker was to Alan Shearer joining United in 1996.
4.20pm BST
Never mind United: who should Spurs sign in the summer? Let’s assume Kane stays.
4.19pm BST
“On who United need,” is the subject of Francis Mead’s email. “My take is that, if we are to get better, we need a better organising/defensive midfielder - who can provide threat upfront with passes and more. So I think we need to replace Fred, solid as he is - with one of the following: Kalvin Phillips or Ruben Neves - I like Neves, since he’s good in possession and provides a goal threat with his shooting. Yes, Phillips has been rather conservative for England, but his passing is usually excellent. Rice is very good defensively - but does he give enough going forward? Kane I’m agnostic on.”
4.17pm BST
Jose Mourinho has selected 16 different defensive combinations in the Premier League this season. The latest of Aurier, Rodon, Dier and Reguilon enjoyed its only previous in a 0-0 draw at Chelsea in November. #THFC
4.15pm BST
Related: European roundup: Matteo Darmian the hero as Inter close in on Serie A title
4.15pm BST
“It can’t be too often that fans of all clubs from 3rd to 11th, including those of Liverpool and Leeds, will be hoping (quietly or not) that Manchester United win,” says Julian Menz. “Nine clubs chasing three European places (depending on cup results of course) is going to be a tight squeeze.”
4.13pm BST
Daniel James tweaked his knee in Spain, which is why he's not on the bench. That's via roving reporter @benthorn30. #mufc
4.07pm BST
“How seriously should United entertain the notion of going after Kane, given his price and what we need elsewhere?” wonders Christopher Faherty. “Personally think Rice should be our primary target with a bullet but it’s clear that Solskjaer doesn’t trust in either Martial or Rashford to do the business up front regularly enough and while Kane has a limitation with his pace if he was to be played as a nine, if Solskjaer sees us a team that needs to maximise chance-taking over chance-creation, Kane’s a good fit for that. It’s a no for me, but the idea has merits.”
I’d imagine the only chance is a player-plus-cash deal. There are a few United players that Mourinho likes, Lingard in particular. I don’t think Rice is a priority, fine player though he is. Personally I’d buy a centre-forward - ideally Kane - and a right-winger (or attacking right-back) first. But so much depends on who is available and how much money they have.
3.37pm BST
Pre-match reading
Related: Reguilón on for Bergwijn: how José Mourinho blew Spurs’ title charge | Jonathan Wilson
Related: Solskjær can take heart from Manchester United’s upward curve | Jamie Jackson
3.34pm BST
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1) Lloris; Aurier, Dier, Rodon, Reguilon; Hojbjerg, Ndombele; Lucas Moura, Lo Celso, Son; Kane.
Substitutes: Hart, Alderweireld, Tanganga, Winks, Lamela, Sissoko, Alli, Bale, Vinicius.
Manchester United (possible 4-2-3-1) Henderson; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay, Fred; Rashford, Fernandes, Pogba; Cavani.
Substitutes: de Gea, Telles, Williams, Tuanzebe, Mata, Matic, van de Beek, Greenwood, Amad.
2.19pm BST
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Spurs v Manchester United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. This game is loaded with context and intrigue: Spurs’ 6-1 win in the return fixture, the passive-aggressive needle between Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the rumours that Harry Kane will ask to leave – possibly to United – if Spurs fail to qualify for the Champions League.
The tactical similarities are also interesting, with both teams are their best on the counter-attack. The cliché is that football matches are decided by who wants it more; this game might be won by the team that wants it less, it being the ball.
Continue reading...Burnley 1-2 Newcastle: Premier League – as it happened
Newcastle grabbed a priceless victory thanks to the brilliance of Allan Saint-Maximin, who came off the bench to make the equaliser and score the winner
2.23pm BST
That’s it for today’s blog. I’ll leave you with Richard Jolly’s match report - bye!
Related: Allan Saint-Maximin delivers blazing cameo as Newcastle beat Burnley
1.58pm BST
Still want more?
Related: West Ham United v Leicester City: Premier League – live!
1.58pm BST
The substitute Allan Saint-Maximin was the star of the show. He’d been on the field two minutes when he set up Jacob Murphy for a cracking equaliser; five minutes after that he scored a glorious solo goal. Even for neutrals, he is the most joyful footballer. For Newcastle fans, he’s a superhero.
1.56pm BST
Newcastle win a Premier League game for the first time since 6 February!
1.55pm BST
90+5 min Westwood volleys wide from 20 yards - and that’s the last kick of the game!
1.53pm BST
90+3 min Jeff Hendrick comes on to replace Miguel Almiron.
1.52pm BST
90+2 min A long ball forward is pulled down by Wood on the edge of the area. The ball bounces up towards Vydra, who hammers it over the bar. He was clattered by Dummett just after taking the shot, but Anthony Taylor/VAR weren’t interested.
1.51pm BST
90+1 min Joel Mumbongo has come on for Burnley in place of Gudmundsson.
1.51pm BST
90+1 min Four minutes of added time.
1.50pm BST
90 min: Tarkowski clears off the line! Saint-Maximin again created the chance, scorching past Tarkowski on the right side of the area. His pull back was slightly behind Wilson, a poor ball in fact, but ran towards Almiron on the edge of the area. He sidefooted a crisp low shot that beat Peacock-Farrell and was kicked off the line by Tarkowski.
1.49pm BST
89 min McNeil’s clipped cross is confidently claimed by Dubravka.
1.49pm BST
89 min Burnley have dominated possession since going behind but they aren’t creating too much.
1.47pm BST
87 min Lowton’s angled cross is well claimed by Dubravka just in front of Chris Wood. He’s had a fine game.
1.46pm BST
85 min The corner is punched away unconvincingly by Peacock-Farrell to the edge of area. Longstaff makes a comedy mess of his shot, slicing it behind him to Saint-Maximin. He connects properly with his shot but it’s blocked by one of the outrushing Burnley defenders.
1.45pm BST
84 min Newcastle waste some time by winning a corner, albeit wrongly awarded.
1.40pm BST
80 min Lots of Burnley pressure now, with Newcastle struggling to get out.
1.37pm BST
77 min This would be such a big win for Newcastle. If it stays like this they will be six points clear of Fulham with a game in hand.
1.37pm BST
76 min Burnley are starting to look dangerous again. McNeil’s cross is volleyed wide of the near post by Vydra, who couldn’t open his body enough to steer it towards goal.
1.36pm BST
74 min McNeil is penalised for a high foot in the face of, yep, Sean Longstaff. This one was outside the area, which is probably why it was given.
1.34pm BST
73 min Tarkowski drives a long pass into the Newcastle area towards Vydra, who waits for it to bounce and hammers it into the side netting. The angle was too tight.
1.33pm BST
72 min “Is there a better name in all of world football than Allan Saint-Maximin?” says Daniel Montefusco, who is well qualified to discuss this subject. “Said with a south London French accent, I reckon there isn’t.”
1.32pm BST
71 min Brownhill has a long-range shot blocked.
1.30pm BST
70 min Brownhill is booked for booting Almiron.
1.30pm BST
SAINT-MAXIMIN! ⚫️⚪️
That is why he's so dangerous. He carries the ball from inside his own half before drilling it past Peacock-Farrell.
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1.28pm BST
66 min Burnley almost equalise straight away. First Vydra miscontrols a dropping ball in the area, then Pieters’ cutback just evades Chris Wood.
1.26pm BST
Saint-Maximin has put Newcastle ahead with a marvellous solo goal. He received possession on the halfway line and charged straight at a backpedalling Burnley defence. He reached the edge of the area, beat Tarkowski with an extravagant Cruyff turn and rammed a low left-footed shot into the corner. What a hero.
1.24pm BST
Allan Saint-Maximin, you are magnificent!
1.22pm BST
62 min “Well, now we know what VAR really stands for,” says Justin Kavanagh. “Very Ambiguous Refereeing. The Liam Cooper is Innocent campaign starts here.”
1.21pm BST
60 min At the other end, McNeil’s dangerous cross is cleared by Clark inside the six-yard box.
1.20pm BST
Allan Saint-Maximin has made the equaliser within two minutes of coming on. He charged into the area from the right, looked up and laid the ball back carefully towards Murphy on the edge of the area. He ran onto it and hit a sweet shot that veered away from Peacock-Farrell and flew into the far corner.
1.19pm BST
Pick that out!
1.17pm BST
57 min Steve Bruce brings out the big guns: Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin replace Gayle and Joelinton up front.
1.16pm BST
56 min “John Graham says the penalty incident was ‘dangerous play’,” says Roy Allen. “Basically, where a high foot is concerned, dangerous play is when the foot is dangerously high but doesn’t make contact. That’s an indirect free kick. If contact is made it’s a plain old foul and a direct free kick or penalty.”
I’m glad I came in today, if only to learn that.
1.15pm BST
55 min Wood muscles Clark off the ball on the left of the area but then slices his shot across the face of goal. Moments later, McNeil’s rising drive is tipped over by Dubravka. It was a fairly comfortably save, straight above his head.
1.14pm BST
54 min Ritchie’s deep cross is headed down by Longstaff at the far post, but there are no other Newcastle players nearby and Mee has time to chest the ball down and welt it clear.
1.12pm BST
52 min Wood wins yet another corner off Fernandez. Westwood’s inswinger is claimed comfortably by Dubravka.
1.11pm BST
50 min Another corner for Burnley, their 428th of the match. Nothing comes of this one.
1.10pm BST
49 min “There’s no doubt that was a penalty,” says John Graham. “Anywhere else on the pitch it’s a free kick , dangerous play. On Sky the host said he played the ball first, Cooper did yesterday for Leeds but was sent off anyway. He also said it had to be a clear and obvious error. Well if that wasn’t, what is? No consistency whatsoever.”
Yep. VAR has made everything a whole lot muddier, and I’m not sure how we resolve that, because it’s too late to put it back in its box. It has already done irreparable damage.
1.07pm BST
46 min Dubravka makes a good save, leaping to tip Lowton’s 20-yard volley over the bar. That effort came from the first of three more Burnley corners in quick succession.
1.05pm BST
46 min Peep peep! Burnley begin the second half. No substitutions on either side, yet.
1.03pm BST
NO PENALTY! ❌
VAR checks to see whether James Tarkowski should be penalised as he clears the ball with a high foot, but it's not adjudged to be a foul.
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12.59pm BST
“I reckon that VAR, in their ‘infinite wisdom’, decided that there was no contact between defender’s boot and attacker’s head,” says Roy Allen. “In which case it would be ‘playing in a dangerous manner’ and punishable by an indirect free kick, which is outside the VAR remit. That’s my theory anyway.”
It was simpler back in the day, when everyone knew where they stood. Play on!
12.52pm BST
Half-time reading
Related: Reguilón on for Bergwijn: how José Mourinho blew Spurs’ title charge | Jonathan Wilson
12.51pm BST
Peep peep! Burnley lead through Matej Vydra’s early goal. They have been the better team in most departments, though Newcastle should probably have had a penalty when James Tarkowski almost beheaded Sean Longstaff. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
12.51pm BST
45+3 min After all those Burnley corners, Newcastle almost equalise from one of their own. It was half cleared to Murphy, who lofted an angled cross into the area. It was missed by everyone in the middle and hit the unsighted Fernandez beyond the far post before rolling through to Peacock-Farrell. Had Fernandez been able to control that, he would have had a clear chance.
12.49pm BST
45+2 min “If the purpose of penalising high feet is to protect players then that’s a penalty regardless of whether the defender got the ball first,” says Niall Mullen. “If it’s outside the box it’s definitely given as a foul.”
I haven’t a clue anymore.
12.48pm BST
45+1 min Three minutes of added time. Burnley are all over Newcastle, with four corners in quick succession.
12.47pm BST
45 min: Fine save by Dubravka! Westwood’s corner was only partially cleared, and McNeil fed the ball back to him on the left. His cross was flicked on dangerously at the near post and then steered towrds his own goal by the stretching Dummett. Dubravka flew to his left to push it behind. That’s a really good save.
12.45pm BST
44 min Burnley deserve their lead, despite that penalty controversy, and Steve Bruce will surely be tempted to bring one or both of Saint-Maximin and Wilson on at half-time.
12.44pm BST
42 min “Great spot re Jamte Vydra,” says Bill Hargreaves. “I’m half expecting the referee to approach him at the end of the match and pull a mask off. He woulda gotten away with it if it weren’t for us pesky kids.”
12.41pm BST
NO PENALTY! Hmm. Steve Bruce won’t be thrilled with that decision. Tarkowski’s clearance was just instinct, but his foot was extremely high and I’m surprised that wasn’t seen as dangerous play.
12.40pm BST
38 min: Fine save from Peacock-Farrell! Murphy’s low cross from the right was met by Gayle, four yards out at the near post. His shot was brilliantly saved by Peacock-Farrell, but the ball bounced up towards Longstaff on the six-yard line. He was about to head the ball into the net when Tarkowski swivelled to hoof it clear. There’s a VAR check for a penalty, as Tarkowski’s foot was very high and he made contact with Longstaff’s head. I think this will be given.
12.37pm BST
36 min Gudmundsson’s deflected shot spins across the area to McNeil, who lifts the bouncing ball over the bar from 10 yards. It wasn’t the easiest chance; the bounce meant he couldn’t get over the ball.
12.36pm BST
34 min: Gayle has a goal disallowed for offside. Murphy’s low cross was turned in the general direction of the goal by the off balance Joelinton. His shot was going wide, and Gayle - who knew he was offside - couldn’t resist stabbing the ball into the net. Replays confirmed he was beyond the last defender.
12.35pm BST
34 min Peacock-Farrell again comes out of his area to beat Joelinton to a long ball over the top. This time he takes no chances, blootering the ball whence it came.
12.31pm BST
31 min Burnley are well on top. They haven’t created loads of chances but they’ve been much the better team and have looked in no trouble defensively.
12.30pm BST
29 min ... and Brownhill whips it miles over the bar.
12.29pm BST
28 min Gudmundsson is fouled on the edge of the D by Clark. Brownhill and Gudmundsson are over the free-kick...
12.28pm BST
25 min Shelvey’s low cross from the right isn’t far away from Gayle, but Tarkowski gets between him and the ball and allows it to roll through to Peacock-Farrell.
12.24pm BST
22 min “Vydra,” muses Niall Mullen, “the anagram-lover’s Vardy.”
That’s a good spot. Their first names are almost an anagram as well. All hail Jamte Vardy.
12.22pm BST
21 min Newcastle haven’t done much in attack. You’d imagine their plan is to stay in the game until they can bring on Saint-Maximin and Wilson.
12.20pm BST
It was made superbly by Chris Wood. He beat Ciaran Clark on the left side of the area, got to the byline and cut the ball back to give Vydra, six yards out, a simple finish.
12.19pm BST
Matej Vydra looked sharp, and now he’s scored!
12.19pm BST
17 min Peacock-Farrell comes out of his area to beat Joelinton to a ball over the top. But then he plays a poor pass, straight to Sean Longstaff on the left wing. Thankfully for Peacock-Farrell, Westwood comes across to ensure Longstaff can’t have a shot.
12.17pm BST
14 min: Good save by Dubravka! Westwood’s superb corner was flicked on at the near post by Brownhill, and Dubravka dived to his left to push the ball away. Mee moved towards the rebound and then fell over after Dummett kicked the underside of his leg. There were no real penalty appeals, and I don’t think there was a VAR check, but in the current climate that could easily have been given.
12.15pm BST
14 min Vydra, who looks the sharpest attacker on the field, charges into the area from the left and lays the ball back to McNeil. His cross hits Shelvey and goes behind for a corner.
12.13pm BST
12 min “Hi Rob,” says Dan Osborn. “Great to see Peacock-Farrell getting a start today. Probably the best goalkeeper with a double-barrelled surname in England?”
Now that’s what I call niche. Also, to adhere to the Trent Principle, shouldn’t we call him Bailey?
12.12pm BST
11 min At the other end, Sean Longstaff’s overhit cross almost sneaks into the net. Peacock-Farrell was scrambling a bit but he had it covered.
12.11pm BST
9 min Gudmundsson’s cross is pulled down expertly by Vydra, but his shot on the turn is blocked by Fernandez.
12.09pm BST
7 min McNeil’s free-kick from the left is headed over by Tarkowski, 10 yards out. The ball was slightly behind him so it wasn’t much of a chance.
12.07pm BST
6 min Vydra picks up a loose ball just outside the area and hits a low shot that is blocked by a combination of Fernandez and Clark.
12.05pm BST
3 min A quiet start. Both teams are in the expected formations: 4-4-2 for Burnley and 3-1-4-2 for Newcastle.
12.02pm BST
1 min Peep peep! Newcastle, in their yellow away kit, kick off from right to left.
12.01pm BST
The players observe a two-minute silence for the Duke of Edinburgh, and now it’s time for the football.
11.06am BST
Nick Pope is unavailable, so Bailey Peacock-Farrell is in goal for Burnley. That’s the only change from the side that lost 3-2 at Southampton last weekend.
Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin start on the bench for Newcastle. They’ve made two changes from last weekend, both in defence: Ciaran Clark and Federico Fernandez replace Jamaal Lascelles and Emil Krafth.
10.53am BST
Pre-match reading
Related: ‘To our real heroes’: Saint-Maximin donates gifts to Newcastle NHS workers
10.16am BST
Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minuteish coverage of Burnley v Newcastle at Turf Moor. This is a huge game in the dogfight to avoid relegation. Burnley are in 15th, four points ahead of Newcastle and, more importantly, seven ahead of Fulham in 18th. If they win today, it’s probably safe to look forward to another season of Sean Dyche’s infectious, gravelly wisdom.
Burnley’s recent form is in the eye of the beholder. They have lost only two of the last nine matches, but they’ve also won only two of the last 11. And they haven’t beaten anyone at Turf Moor since January.
Continue reading...April 10, 2021
Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona: El Clásico – as it happened
Goals from Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos gave Real a vital win in a match that was played in atrocious conditions
9.58pm BST
Thanks for your company and emails. I’ll leave you with Sid Lowe’s match report. Bye!
Related: Kroos’ double deflection deflates Barça, decides clásico and sends Real top
9.55pm BST
Real Madrid go top of the table after doing the double over Barcelona for the first time since 2007-08 (I think). It was an imperfect but wildly entertaining game, played in torrential rain throughout the second half. Real’s counter-attacking tactics worked superbly, particularly in the first half when Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos put them 2-0 ahead. They had a few hairy moments in the second half, with Oscar Mingueza’s goal sparking a Barcelona onslaught.
9.53pm BST
That was some finish! A long free-kick was headed back across the area towards Moriba, who took it on the chest and slammed a sweet volley off the crossbar. The ball rebounded to ter Stegen, up for the free-kick, on the edge of the area - and his shot was blocked by one of his team-mates!
9.52pm BST
90+4 min Moriba hits the bar in the last attack of the game!
9.50pm BST
90+3 min Mingueza makes a vital tackle to deny Marcelo, who would otherwise have been through on goal. At the other end, Alba’s cross is headed wide by Braithwaite at the near post. It wasn’t much of a chance.
9.49pm BST
90+2 min Moriba shoots over from 20 yards.
9.48pm BST
90+1 min Messi gets this one on target, but Courtois moves across his line to make a comfortable save. There will be four minutes of added time.
9.48pm BST
90 min Casemiro gets a second yellow card in as many minutes, this time for fouling Mingueza just outside the area. This is another free-kick opportunity for Messi: 20 yards out, slightly to the right of centre.
9.47pm BST
90 min Real Madrid have had less than a third of the possession. They’ve also scored two thirds of the goals.
9.46pm BST
89 min Casemiro is booked for a Francis Begbie tackle on Messi in the centre circle.
9.45pm BST
Change of shirt for Leo Messi pic.twitter.com/4y84WwTrEi
9.45pm BST
87 min Real Madrid aren’t really bothering to attack now. All that matters is protecting their lead.
9.43pm BST
83 min Barcelona appeal furiously for a penalty when Braithwaite goes down in the area. Alba had poked a shot past Courtois that was going wide of the far post. Mendy was shepherding it away from goal when Braithwaite nipped in front of him. Braithwaite felt a slight touch on his arm from Mendy and went over. It looked like a dive to me, though it was a risky move from Mendy and the Barcelona players were livid. Alba has been booked for dissent.
9.40pm BST
82 min Isco batters over the bar from the edge of the area. There’s a desperate feel to the match, partly because of the context and partly because of the rain.
9.39pm BST
81 min Two more changes for Barcelona: Martin Braithwaite and Francisco Trincao replace Dembele and Pedri.
9.37pm BST
80 min There’s a break in play while the referee’s walkie-talkie is fixed, presumably because of rain damage. It has rained incessantly since half-time. Messi takes advantage of the timeout to change his shirt.
9.35pm BST
78 min Barcelona’s last league defeat was at Cadiz on 5 December.
9.34pm BST
77 min Mariano has a shot blocked and then Marcelo slices the rebound wide.
9.34pm BST
76 min Odriozola’s mishit cross almost sneaks past ter Stegen, who has to leap and flap the ball over the bar.
9.32pm BST
75 min Messi’s floated cross is headed straight at Courtois by the substitute Moriba. It was a good leap but he couldn’t generate any power in the header.
9.32pm BST
74 min Real have gone to a back three/five, with Mendy moving inside and Marcelo coming on at left wing-back.
9.30pm BST
72 min Substitutions galore. Real first: Marcelo, Isco and Mariano Diaz replace Benzema, Vinicius and Kroos. And Barcelona have brought on Ilaix Moriba for Araujo. Both sides will benefit from some fresh legs, not to mention dry shirts.
9.29pm BST
71 min The increasingly influential Messi combines with Sergi Roberto to release Mingueza on the right of the area. He smashes a cross shot that beats everyone in the middle and flashes wide of the far post.
9.28pm BST
70 min Messi’s free-kick hits the wall. It’s still absolutely pelting down, by the way, which is making for a slightly shambolic but extremely entertaining second half.
9.27pm BST
70 min The free-kick is 22 yards from goal, slightly to the left of centre, and Messi is going to take it...
9.27pm BST
68 min Another great chance for Madrid! A cross from the right was headed back across goal by Vinicius towards Kroos, whose stooping header was cleared in the six-yard box. It was off target anyway. Barcelona break and Messi is flattened by Nacho as he curls a shot wide from the edge of the D. A foul is given and Nacho is booked.
9.25pm BST
66 min: Great chance for Vinicius! Modric clipped a long pass upfield, and Vinicius had too much pace for the last man Mingueza. He ran from the halfway line to the edge of the area, but then tried to play a square pass to Benzema instead of shooting. It was the wrong choice, poorly executed, and Lenglet was able to clear.
9.22pm BST
65 min Griezmann is fouled 25 yards from goal. Messi cracks the free-kick into the wall.
9.21pm BST
64 min Another Barcelona change: Sergi Roberto replaces Sergio Busquets.
9.21pm BST
64 min “Imagine the red card Sergio Ramos could produce in these conditions,” says Phil Cowen. “If he wasn’t already itching to be out there, he is now.”
9.20pm BST
63 min Alba’s low cross is crucially blocked by Courtois at the near post, with two or three Barcelona players waiting behind him in the six-yard box.
9.19pm BST
61 min Real Madrid bring on Marco Asensio for the excellent Fede Valverde. Moments later, Vinicius’s cross hits Araujo and deflects onto the outside of the near post.
9.18pm BST
Messi poked a pass down the left towards Jordi Alba, who curled a first-time cross into the middle. Griezmann leapt to dummy it at the near post, and Mingueza stretched to force a shot past Courtois. He didn’t catch it cleanly - in fact it came off his shin - but he’ll not care.
9.17pm BST
Barcelona are back in it!
9.14pm BST
57 min And now Benzema cracks high and wide from 20 yards with his left foot. There are more goals in this for Madrid.
9.14pm BST
57 min Another superb counter-attack from Real ends with Valverde’s low cross just evading Benzema.
9.13pm BST
56 min “I concur with Matt Dony’s rant only insofar as I’d like Barcelona to make life difficult for Real Madrid ahead of Liverpool’s second leg match on Wednesday,” says Colum Fordham. “I actually prefer Barcelona to Real Madrid (and have fond memories of seeing them at the Camp Nou) but the team seems to be falling apart at the seams. Vinicius tortured Liverpool last Tuesday and is doing the same to Barca this evening. We need some Messi magic.”
Either that or an abandonment because of the rain. It’s not impossible, because the conditions are atrocious.
9.13pm BST
55 min Griezmann misses a great chance, though it wouldn’t have counted as the flag went up just after he slid a shot wide of the near post.
9.12pm BST
54 min “I think Liverpool should just invite one supporter to stand in the Kop end on Wednesday and give Real a piece of his mind,” says Justin Kavanagh. “If there’s any left of it after that scarifying email. I can just imagine Matt Dony belting out You’ll Never Walk Again all on his lonesome…”
Was the ‘Again’ deliberate, or subconscious recognition of Matt Dony’s furious anger.
9.11pm BST
53 min Loads of Barcelona possession, same as in the first half. But Madrid still look very dangerous on the counter-attack. After a good one-touch move involving Modric and Benzema, Kroos sweeps over the bar from 25 yards.
9.09pm BST
52 min “Messi doesn’t really hide his feelings these days,” says Ruth Purdue. “The misses from Dembele come to mind. Being as good as he is must be hard for him sometimes.”
The contrast with Maradona is interesting; he made mediocre players feel like they could beat the world.
9.08pm BST
51 min The rain is biblical, and there’s already some surface water holding the ball up slightly.
9.06pm BST
48 min It’s proper John Cusack weather in Madrid now, and even the referee slipped over a moment ago.
9.05pm BST
48 min Good defending from Nacho, who stops Pedri’s cutback reaching Messi at the near post.
9.04pm BST
46 min Barcelona have switched to a back four, with Oscar Mingueza moving to right-back.
9.03pm BST
46 min Peep peep!
9.03pm BST
Barcelona have made a half-time substitution. Antoine Griezmann is on for Dest.
8.58pm BST
“Well, yes,” says Matt Dony. “Of course Aditi Modi is going to agree with me. Because I’m right. It’s the only rational approach to this match. However, I would like to stress that I’m not actually scary in any way. I would say I’m a lover, not a fighter. But, come on. I’m emailing the MBM on a Saturday night. I’m clearly neither. And I’ve made my peace with that.”
8.57pm BST
“Scoring that penalty against Chelsea in the 2012 semi would’ve gone a long way toward another Champions League!” says Phil Podolsky, adding another to the list of Lionel Messi’s Expected Champions League winners’ medals.
8.50pm BST
“There’s a case to be made,” begins Paul Fitzgerald, “that if Higuain and Dembele showed more composure in certain games, that Messi would have an extra Champions League and a World Cup to his name.”
True, although Messi missing a sitter in the World Cup final didn’t help either.
8.49pm BST
Peep peep! Real have control of the clasico after an exemplary counter-attacking performance. Karim Benzema scored a superb first goal before Toni Kroos added a deflected free-kick. But the star of the first half was Vinicius Junior, who has been a constant menace on the break.
8.48pm BST
45+3 min Dembele’s deep corner from the left finds its way through to Messi, whose close-range shot is superbly blocked by Courtois. Messi had controlled it with his arm, so I doubt it would have counted anyway.
8.47pm BST
45+1 min: Messi hits the post from a corner! It was a wicked, booming inswinger that beats the stretching Courtois and thumped off the far post. There would have been plenty of stink had he scored, because the corner had been wrongly awarded.
8.45pm BST
45 min Two minutes of added time. Barcelona are inadvertently giving a masterclass in sterile domination.
8.42pm BST
43 min Vazquez is unable to continue because of that injury to his left knee. Alvaro Odriozola comes on to replace him.
8.41pm BST
41 min Messi has a shot blocked by Valverde, who has had a storming half at both ends of the pitch.
8.40pm BST
40 min It has started pouring down in Madrid, if you’re interested in that sort of thing. Lucas Vazquez is back on the field, though he’s still limping.
8.39pm BST
39 min “Matt Dony’s anger was such,” begins Ian Copestake, “that he took the gloves off with that comment only to reveal yet another pair of gloves!”
8.39pm BST
38 min Lucas Vazquez and Busquets are receiving treatment after a painful 50/50 near the halfway line. I think there was a clash of knees, and Vazquez looks in all sorts of pain.
8.37pm BST
37 min Barcelona implore the referee to give a penalty when Dembele falls over in the area after a slightly clumsy challenge from Mendy. Nothing doing.
8.36pm BST
37 min Real have had 37 per cent of the possession. They’re doing a rope-a-dope number on Barcelona, just as they did to Liverpool in the week.
8.35pm BST
34 min: Valverde hits the post! That was a scintillating break from Real. Vinicius Junior charged down the left and flicked a lovely outside-of-the-foot pass across to Valverde on the edge of the area. His fierce shot rebounded off the inside of the far post, and Vazquez’s follow-up was saved by ter Stegen.
8.34pm BST
34 min de Jong’s cross from the right deflects invitingly towards Dembele, who barely connects with his first-time shot. That looked like a great chance.
8.32pm BST
33 min “Vinicius scared me,” says Ian Copestake.
Is that what we’re calling Matt Dony now?
8.31pm BST
32 min “That Matt Dony message was borderline scary,” says Aditi Modi. “I have half a mind to ask you to keep this anonymous. And yet, as a neutral, I find myself agreeing with him.”
8.31pm BST
31 min Vinicius Junior is starting to look really dangerous on the break. It was his run that led to the free-kick for the second goal, and moments ago he was crowded out desperately in the area by Dest and Busquets.
8.29pm BST
Kroos’s free-kick took a big deflection off Dest, who turned his back as he leapt, and flew past Jordi Alba on the line. Alba tried to head it away but could only help it into the net. I can’t decide whether Alba should have done better or whether he didn’t have enough reaction time. Either way, I’m pretty sure the original free-kick was on target, so it should go down as Kroos’s goal.
8.27pm BST
It’s in there!
8.27pm BST
27 min Kroos will take the free-kick...
8.27pm BST
26 min Vinicius Junior is fouled this far outside the area by Mingueza, who is booked. It was a brilliant run from Vinicius, who beat Mingueza twice and was punished for his impertinence.
8.23pm BST
24 min Benzema wafts the free-kick miles over the bar.
8.23pm BST
23 min Pedri is booked for fouling Casemiro 25 yards from goal.
8.21pm BST
22 min “Jordi Alba really didn’t even consider putting his foot in for the lead up to that goal,” says Paul Fitzgerald. “Horrible defending.”
Yeah, it wasn’t good. Valverde just walked past him.
8.21pm BST
21 min Modric has a snapshot blocked by Araujo. This is Real’s best spell of the game in terms of sustained possession.
8.19pm BST
20 min “I may have said before, but I detest Barcelona,” chirps Matt Dony. “Probably more than I hate any other football club. The sanctimony and arrogance drive me mad. And, I know they’re not exactly shrinking violets, but I’ve always liked Madrid. Or at least, I’ve liked them since McManaman went there. And if you didn’t enjoy the Galacticos era, then you have no soul. But, right now, I’d love to see Barca absolutely destroy Madrid, and crush their spirit before next week. Not just beat them, as that might make them angry and even more determined to do the business in Europe. I want the see Madrid ripped apart, and left terrified of football. I want Zidane to feel like he has to hand in his notice. (Deservedly, for the shoddy way he treated Bale. But that’s another story, and one in which I might not be entirely impartial.) And, no one wants to condone the ‘agricultural’ approach to tackling, but a few Madrid players out for 7-10 days wouldn’t be the end of the world...”
8.18pm BST
19 min The scoreline is a minor travesty, as Barcelona have played almost all of the football so far.
8.16pm BST
16 min Almost an instant equaliser for Barcelona. Messi dances around the defence on the left of the area and stands up a fine cross that just evades Dembele.
8.15pm BST
Barcelona are angry because they thought Messi was fouled at the other end. I didn’t think it was a foul, for whatever that’s worth. Play continued and Fede Valverde surged 40 yards before finding Lucas Vazquez on the right. He crossed low towards the near post, where Benzema got in front of Araujo and flicked a jaunty shot behind his front leg. It beat ter Stegen, who might have been unsighted, and sneaked in at the near post. A touch of class from Benzema, who is playing some of the best football of his career.
8.13pm BST
The big man gives Real the lead with a brilliant goal!
8.13pm BST
12 min “Impressions of Ousmane Dembele?” says Simon Frank. “I rarely saw such an upright player with incredible balance and a shot off either foot. He also shows Balotelli levels of not appearing to give a flying one.”
He’s obviously talented but has rarely done much when I’ve seen him. And I can never forgive him for this.
8.10pm BST
10 min: Good save by Courtois! Messi plays a typical pass inside Vazquez to release Jordi Alba. He fires a low cross towards Dembele that is pushed away by the diving Courtois. That was a vital bit of goalkeeping, because Dembele would otherwise have had an open goal.
8.09pm BST
9 min Pedri combines nicely with Dembele and finds Messi on the edge of the D. He makes a beeline for goal but it well tackled by Mendy.
8.06pm BST
6 min It’s been a confident start from Barcelona, with plenty of the old tiki-taka.
8.05pm BST
5 min Vinicius breaks into the area from the left, but his touch is too heavy and the ball runs out of play. That was a hint of a chance for Madrid.
8.04pm BST
3 min Plenty of early possession for Barcelona, albeit in the middle third of the pitch.
8.01pm BST
1 min Peep peep! We’re off and running.
8.00pm BST
“Hi Rob,” says Peter Oh. “This training ground pitch doesn’t really do justice to El Clasico, does it?”
7.57pm BST
Karim Benzema and Lionel Messi lead their teams onto the pitch. Let’s get it on.
7.52pm BST
A bit more pre-match reading
Related: The Joy of Six: Real Madrid v Barcelona El Clásico classics | Scott Murray
7.49pm BST
Just over 10 minutes until the kick off. Here’s a reminder of how the table looks - the leaders Atletico Madrid have a tricky game at Betis tomorrow night.
7.46pm BST
Sid Lowe’s preview
Related: In-form Barça and Real Madrid up for clásico that could decide La Liga
7.00pm BST
Both teams make one change from their midweek wins. Real Madrid bring in Fede Valverde for Marco Asensio, which probably means a change to a diamond midfield. Barcelona have replaced Antoine Griezmann with Ronald Araujo, so Frenkie de Jong will move into midfield. Gerard Pique, who has been out for a month, is back on the bench.
Real Madrid (4-3-3) Courtois; Lucas Vazquez, Militao, Nacho, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
Substitutes: Lunin, Altube, Asensio, Marcelo, Odriozola, Isco, Mariano, Rodrygo.
6.07pm BST
The clasico has got its glamour back. After a couple of years of relative drabness, this feels like a proper meeting between Real Madrid and Barcelona. The context is perfect for the neutral: both teams know that victory tonight would put them top of the table, and make them favourites to win La Liga. That looked unlikely a few months ago, particularly when Barcelona were 13th in the table. But their recent form has been devastating, and they have taken 40 points from 14 league games since the turn of the year.
Real Madrid are also in very good form and dealt efficiently with Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final. But they will again be without Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, which is far from ideal against a rampant Barcelona attack. Oh, just one other thing about tonight’s game: it might be Lionel Messi’s last clasico.
Liverpool 2-1 Aston Villa, Preston 0-5 Brentford and more: clockwatch – as it happened
Trent Alexander-Arnold scored a brilliant injury-time winner at Anfield, while all the big guns were victorious in the Championship
5.11pm BST
That’s it for today’s Clocko. We’ll have match reports galore on the site shortly, and you can also follow Crystal Palace v Chelsea with Simon Burnton. Oh, and I’ll be back later for El Clasico. Bye!
Related: Crystal Palace v Chelsea: Premier League – live!
5.00pm BST
Peep peep! The 3pm games are over, and these are the scores in all our featured games.
Premier League
4.58pm BST
Related: Crystal Palace v Chelsea: Premier League – live!
4.58pm BST
Related: European roundup: Bayern Munich held at home by Union Berlin
4.57pm BST
Peep peep! Liverpool jump to fourth after winning at Anfield for the first time since mid-December.
4.57pm BST
Kieran Dowell’s classy free-kick means Norwich are one win away from clinching promotion.
4.56pm BST
Brentford end a run of four straight draws with a spectacular victory.
4.54pm BST
A dreadful day for Cambridge, who have lost their place at the top of League Two to Cheltenham.
4.53pm BST
Five for Brentford!
4.53pm BST
Half time: Strasbourg 0-3 PSG Moise Kean has scored a third for PSG just before half-time. It’s safe to assume they will win that game. Or, to put it another way, there’s no chance I’m handing around after 5.15pm.
4.52pm BST
Trent Alexander-Arnold has given Liverpool the lead in injury-time! It was a beautiful goal, flashed into the far corner from the edge of the area.
4.51pm BST
Liverpool 1-1 Aston Villa Liverpool are running out of time at Anfield, with only one minute of normal time remaining. But they are at least on course to end their run of six straight league defeats at home.
4.47pm BST
A couple of 6-0 scorelines worth mentioning: Celtic 6-0 Livingston in the Scottish Premiership, and Crewe 0-6 Oxford in League One.
4.46pm BST
Matt Jay has made it four for Exeter at the Abbey Stadium. That is quite a result.
4.45pm BST
The substitute Sergi Canos completes a superb afternoon’s work for Brentford, whose switch to a back three has been a triumph.
4.42pm BST
Apropos not much, I wonder what VAR would make of this
Just hand over the award, now ... #Souness #LFC #Rangers pic.twitter.com/9GmZk5ydRY
4.41pm BST
Liverpool 1-1 Aston Villa An interesting incident at Anfield. Trent Alexander-Arnold kicks the bottom of Trezeguet’s foot in the Liverpool area. Trezeguet stays on his feet, and VAR decides it wasn’t a penalty. Had he gone down, that might have been given. It’s such a mess.
4.38pm BST
Tariqe Fosu beats his man with multiple stepovers and stands up a lovely cross that is headed in by Ivan Toney. Brentford’s winless run is surely over.
4.37pm BST
Hull’s day just got even better: Greg Docherty has put them three goals ahead at Plymouth.
4.36pm BST
“Dundee United still leading at Hamilton thanks to Marc McNulty’s early goal,” reports Simon McMahon. “Celtic have put five past Livingston and it’s finely poised at 2-2 between Kilmarnock and Ross County. A late goal flurry is required at Station Park before the classified check as it’s currently Forfar 1 East Fife 2.”
Give it time.
4.34pm BST
These are the latest scores in our featured games, with roughly 20 minutes remainingin the 3pm kick-offs.
Premier League
4.30pm BST
Ligue 1: Strasbourg 0-2 PSG
PSG are off to a flyer in their match at Strasbourg. The ludicrous Kylian Mbappe and Pablo Sarabia have put them two up after half an hour.
4.29pm BST
Exeter have restored their two-goal lead away to the League Two leaders Cambridge, although they won’t be top of the table at 5pm if results stay as they are. Archie Collins scored from close range after very good work from Matt Jay.
4.27pm BST
Thanks to Bruce Jackson for pointing out that snow stopped play for the best part of an hour at Port Vale. The game resumed a few minutes ago, and Nathan Smith has put the home side 1-0 up against Morecambe.
⏱️ | 28'
Following a 45-minute break due to excessive snowfall, play resumes with a clear pitch and no snow in sight!
⚫️⚪️ 0-0 ⚪️ #PVFCLive pic.twitter.com/G7JBfyQzIQ
4.24pm BST
Liverpool 1-1 Aston Villa Trezeguet has hit the inside of the post with a terrific effort, flicked extravagantly with the outside of his right foot. It might not have counted, though, as Watkins looked offside in the build up.
4.23pm BST
Peep peep! Two dropped points for Bayern, though it’s not a terrible result given how many first-choice players they were missing. They are now five points above Leipzig, who hammered Werder Bremen.
4.21pm BST
Josh Magennis has grabbed a second goal for the League One leaders Hull. This is turning into a very good day for them, because third-placed Sunderland are losing 2-0 at home to Charlton. As things stand Hull have an eight-point promotion cushion, though Sunderland have two games in hand.
4.19pm BST
Liverpool have scored a goal, and not even VAR can stop this one! Andy Robertson’s fierce shot was pushed away by Emi Martinez, diving to his left, but Mo Salah reacted smartly to beat Mings to the rebound and head the ball into the empty net.
4.16pm BST
Cambridge are back in the game thanks to Joe Ironside, who finished from close range after an excellent cross by Hiram Boateng.
4.15pm BST
Marcus Ingvartsen has breathed a bit of life into the Bundesliga title race!
4.14pm BST
“Afternoon Rob,” says Stephen Carr. “Bewilderment and me have always been comfortable bedfellows but I cannot wrap my head around why we need VAR to decide whether that was offside or not. I accept offside is a law of absolutes but nonetheless, what overall benefit does reducing it to such fine margins bring?”
4.09pm BST
We’ve not heard the last of this either
Silence from those inside @CelticFC Park before @LiviFCOfficial game to mark death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh but some sort of fireworks outside pic.twitter.com/UegIqZiROx
4.08pm BST
“There’s an issue with these VAR offsides that I’ve not heard talked about,” says Kevin Holloway. “The offsides are being measured to the fraction of an inch, but we don’t know within a fraction of a second/inch when the ball was released from the passing players foot. The ball on the VAR screen is a blob that lasts for a period of time, during which a player’s armpit or finger nail moves some distance. There is no point VAR pretending it can be so accurate at the end point when it can’t be so accurate when the ball is played. I’m in despair.”
I’ve heard this mentioned a few times and completely agree. It’s another reason why they should have the equivalent of umpire’s call in cricket, or, better still, put the entire sorry mess back in its box.
4.06pm BST
... Jamal Musiala has scored a fine solo goal to give Bayern the lead.
4.06pm BST
But more importantly...
3.55pm BST
Peep peep! It’s half time in the 3pm games, so I’m off to grab a coffee and try to make sense of that disallowed goal. These are the latest scores in our featured games. It’s a good day to play away:
Premier League
3.54pm BST
One back for Bremen.
3.52pm BST
There were two parts to that decision: whether Jota was offside, and whether Matty Cash touched the ball, thus invalidating any potential offside. I’m not sure about the latter, but to the naked eye Jota looked onside. VAR’s geometry department disagreed. Even Dean Smith looks baffled by that, never mind Jurgen Klopp.
3.51pm BST
Liverpool have had a goal disallowed by VAR in extremely controversial circumstances. Roberto Firmino seemed to have equalised with an exquisite finish, lifting the ball over two defenders and the keeper from six yards, but VAR decided there was an offside against Diogo Jota in the build up. Hmm.
3.45pm BST
Villa have stolen the lead! John McGinn played a short pass through to Ollie Watkins, who controlled it under pressure from Kabak and belted a left-footed shot through Alisson from 15 yards. That’s not great goalkeeping.
3.41pm BST
Liverpool 0-0 Aston Villa Liverpool’s long run without a first-half goal at Anfield looks set to continue. It’s been a pretty quiet game, though Salah, Jota and Konsa have all had good chances.
3.33pm BST
Liverpool 0-0 Aston Villa Liverpool should be ahead. Diogo Jota has just missed an excellent chance, heading onto the roof of the net from a wrongly awarded corner.
3.32pm BST
Brentford’s tactical change is working a treat; Marcus Forss has put them 2-0 up with a fine goal.
3.31pm BST
Liverpool 0-0 Aston Villa A bit of concussion-related controversy. Douglas Luiz was about to be replaced by Jacob Ramsey, a decision taken by the team doctor, but argued his case on the touchline and was eventually allowed to stay on. We’ll hear more about that, I’m sure.
3.29pm BST
“Hi Rob,” says David Wall. “After such a long period when they were untouchable, have City become fallible at just the wrong time in the season? It’s unlikely to make a difference in the league but it could be important in Europe. And most likely that’ll be because Guardiola will get too clever with his tactics and team selection, worried about that fallibility, and it’ll completely backfire on him again.”
I suppose they have regressed towards the merely excellent, but that was inevitable after an unprecedented winning run. I didn’t realise fancy them in Europe even before they started losing the odd game.
3.25pm BST
Liverpool 0-0 Aston Villa Ezri Konsa has missed a good chance for Villa, heading straight at Alisson from six yards.
3.25pm BST
Kieran Dowell whips a majestic free-kick into the top corner to give Norwich the lead at Pride Park.
3.21pm BST
Half times: Bayern Munich 0-0 Union Berlin, Werder Bremen 0-0 RB Leipzig
3.20pm BST
Leipzig are strolling to victory in Bremen. Alexander Sorloth has scored his second goal to put them three up at half-time.
3.18pm BST
Crikey, Cambridge are two down. Jack Sparkes’ long-range shot bounced past the diving Callum Burton, who should probably have done better.
3.16pm BST
The League One leaders are ahead at Plymouth. Keane Lewis-Potter scored the goal, sliding confidently into the far corner after good play from Mallik Wilks.
3.15pm BST
Liverpool 0-0 Aston Villa Mo Salah has missed a great chance, poking just wide after a comedy error from Tyrone Mings. Emi Martinez did well to narrow the angle but Salah should have scored.
3.14pm BST
“What’s happened to Allison’s moustache?” wonders Paul Griffin. “I was so inspired by his midweek mouey that I was planning to copycat his 1980s regional senior sales manager vibe, and am on the hunt for a Ford Sierra 1.6 GL (Ocean Blue, with optional extra smoked glass sunroof) to complete the look. But Allison’s lip augmentation had gone. Vanished. It’s a follicular metaphor for the season as a whole and confirms that Klopp has lost both his touch and the dressing room.”
3.13pm BST
Bryan Mbuemo has slammed Brentford into an early lead at Deepdale. They are playing a different formation today, 3-4-3 rather than the usual 4-3-3.
3.10pm BST
The latest scores in our featured games
Premier League
3.09pm BST
“So, mathematically, Liverpool can’t overtake Man City?” says David Hayhurst. “To quote Jez from Peep Show, Rob, do you have to live so relentlessly in the real world?”
Haha. That’s ripe for a rewatch, the early series certainly.
3.05pm BST
An early blow for the League Two leaders Cambridge, who have gone behind to a goal from the prolific Ryan Bowman. It was a precise header, steered off the inside of the post from a flat cross into the area.
3.05pm BST
Alexander Sorloth has headed Leipzig into a two-goal lead! As things stand they are five points behind Bayern with 10 games to play.
3.01pm BST
“Afternoon Rob,” writes Simon McMahon. “It’s the first set of post-split fixtures in the Scottish Premier today, the pick of them being Dundee United’s trip to Hamilton, which could have a bearing at both ends of the bottom six. Micky Mellon’s Tangerines could go seventh with a win, while three points for Hamilton would move them off bottom spot, as Kilmarnock and Ross County above them meet each other.
“Other games include Celtic v Livingston, Motherwell v St. Mirren and St. Johnstone v Aberdeen. A mention too for the Classified Check derby in Scottish League One between Forfar and East Fife. Nine-goal thriller, anyone?”
2.59pm BST
Related: Stuart Dallas breaks late for winner as 10-man Leeds stun Manchester City
2.57pm BST
If Bayern do drop points - and it’s not beyond the realms with the team they’ve picked - Leipzig could close the gap to five or five points. They have taken the lead in Bremen through a brilliant team goal, finished by Dani Olmo.
2.54pm BST
Bayern Munich 0-0 Union Berlin Marius Bulter has just missed an excellent chance for Union, heading straight at Manuel Neuer from eight yards.
2.52pm BST
“Now Leeds have blown the title race Wide Open, Liverpool can start their late-season charge,” says Matt Dony. “Number 20 is on, Rob! It’s going to happen! To borrow a phrase, It’s coming home!”
I hate to puncture this euphoria with hardcore mathematics, but if Liverpool win all their remaining games they will finish on 73 points. City are currently on 74. I suppose they could be deducted a couple for an impromptu brawl, like Arsenal in 1990-91.
2.39pm BST
Bayern 0-0 Union Berlin A quiet start in Munich, where Bayern have picked a weakened side due to injuries and the proximity of their second leg against PSG.
2.32pm BST
Cambridge v Exeter team news
Our bad. Hoolahan good but there’s genuinely only one of him!
Hannant on the bench #CamUTD https://t.co/JC9SLTE3JE
Team News: @CambridgeUtdFC
@RandellW11 returns to the starting XI
One change from Monday#ECFC #OneGrecianGoal pic.twitter.com/M7grs7olLR
2.31pm BST
Plymouth v Hull team news
How Argyle line-up for today's @SkyBetLeagueOne visit of @HullCity #pafc pic.twitter.com/0megIb6rsw
Here’s how the Tigers line-up for #PLYHUL…
Unchanged.
⬛️ Coyle captains the side.#hcafc | #theTigers pic.twitter.com/iVfst5cmqt
2.30pm BST
Peep peep! A glorious win for Leeds, who were down to ten men for more than half the game but stole the points when Stuart Dallas scored in injury-time.
Related: Manchester City v Leeds United: Premier League – live!
2.28pm BST
A terrific win for Swansea. Andre Ayew scored a cracker just before half-time, then Jamal Lowe saw his goal and raised it with two jazzers in the second half. Swansea’s win means that Norwich cannot be mathematically promoted today.
2.26pm BST
Stuart Dallas has put ten-man Leeds in front with his second goal of the game!
Related: Manchester City v Leeds United: Premier League – live!
2.24pm BST
Preston v Brentford team news
Preston (3-5-2) Iversen; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; van den Berg, Ledson, Whiteman, Potts Barkhuizen; Riis, Evans.
Substitutes: Hudson, Huntington, Molumby, Browne, Bayliss, Sincair, Gordon, Bodin, Moult.
2.18pm BST
Swansea are having a day out in London. Jamal Lowe has scored another outstanding goal. He dragged his studs over the ball to take it away from Jake Cooper, turned in one smooth movement and leathered it into the roof of the net.
2.13pm BST
Derby v Norwich team news
Derby County (4-2-3-1) Marshall; McDonald, Wisdom, Mengi, Forsyth; Bird, Shinnie; Roberts, Lawrence, Jozwiak; Kazim-Richards.
Substitutes: Roos, Buchanan, Ebosele, Baningime, Knight, Watson, Shonibare, Sibley, Cresswell.
2.11pm BST
City have finally broken Leeds down. Bernardo Silva - who was seriously close to being offside, although the VAR check was cursory at best - set up Ferran Torres for a cool finish.
Related: Manchester City v Leeds United: Premier League – live!
2.08pm BST
Swnsea are heading for victory in south London. Jamal Lowe has put them 2-0 up with a fine solo goa, running across the line of the Millwall defence and finishing emphatically.
2.02pm BST
Liverpool v Aston Villa team news
Liverpool (4-3-3) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Kabak, Robertson; Milner, Fabinho, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Jota.
Substitutes: Adrian, Thiago, Keita, Mane, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tsimikas, Shaqiri, Davies, R Williams.
1.58pm BST
And promotion-chasing Swansea are still 1-0 up at Millwall with 25 minutes remaining. Andre Ayew scored a cracking in first half injury-time.
Andre Ayew gave Swansea the lead on the stroke of half-time with this wonderful strike.
Watch the second half live on Sky Sports pic.twitter.com/7zbyrKB4uH
1.57pm BST
Leeds’ 10 men are hanging on to their 1-0 lead at the Etihad. It all happened just before half-time: Stuart Dallas scored and Liam Cooper was given a straight red, after a VAR check, for a dangerous follow through on Gabriel Jesus.
Related: Manchester City v Leeds United: Premier League – live!
1.55pm BST
Werder Bremen v RB Leipzig team news
Werder Bremen (3-4-1-2) Pavlenka; Toprak, Moisander, Friedl; Gebre Selassie, Mbom, Gross, Agu; Sargent; Dinkci, Selke.
Substitutes: Zetterer, Veljkovic, Mohwald, Rashica, Bittencourt, Schmid, Gruev, Erras, Osako.
1.49pm BST
Bayern Munich v Union Berlin team news
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1) Neuer; Sarr, Martinez, Boateng, Stanisic; Kimmich, Dantas; Musiala, Muller, Coman; Choupo-Moting.
Substitutes: Nubel, Pavard, Sane, Nianzou, Alaba, Vita, Oberlin, Scott.
1.20pm BST
Good afternoon one, good afternoon all. This has been a season full of ludicrous results, but one game stands out: Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool on 4 October. And it looked even weirder then than it does now. This was before Virgil van Dijk’s injury, before Liverpool’s title challenge had turned into an unfathomable fiasco. Today, the teams meet again at Anfield, and it’s fair to assume Liverpool will be after one or all of the following clichés: revenge, redemption, closure.
But what they really, really need is three points. They are fighting for their Champions League life, both this season and next, and start this match in seventh place. They are five points ahead of Villa, having played a game more. At the same stage last season, there were 57 points between them.
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