Scott Murray's Blog

Chelsea 0-3 Bayern Munich: Champions ... The Fiver | Chased across broken glas...

Bournemouth 2-2 Chelsea, West Ham 3-1 Southampton and more – as it happened

West Ham claimed three precious points in their battle against relegation, while Marcos Alonso scrambled a draw for Chelsea on the south coast

5.28pm GMT

And that, my Clockwatch cronies, is that. Thanks for staying with this goalfest, and by way of reward, here’s some breaking news to end it all: the theme from Z-Cars has just blasted from the speakers at Vicarage Road, and that means Watford v Liverpool is minutes away from kick-off. Rob Smyth is all over it. Enjoy, enjoy!

5.25pm GMT

Brighton & Hove Albion 0-1 Crystal Palace. In case you missed it earlier, Palace won the M23 derby. Ed Aarons was at the Amex, and these are his conclusions.

5.23pm GMT

Newcastle United 0-0 Burnley. In retrospect, poor Louise Taylor drew the short straw today. She was there to witness Newcastle struggle up front yet again. Here’s her take on the action at St James’.

5.20pm GMT

West Ham United 3-1 Southampton. It was a huge win for the Hammers at their

beloved
London Stadium. Jacob Steinberg was on point to file this verdict.

5.17pm GMT

Bayern Munich beat Hoffenheim 6-0, incidentally. Here’s how football’s latest fiasco literally unfurled.

5.14pm GMT

Bournemouth 2-2 Chelsea. It was an entertaining back-and-forth on the south coast. Ben Fisher was there to witness it, and here’s his report.

5.11pm GMT

All the updated tables, to peruse at your leisure, perchance for your pleasure. It’s been a great day for West Ham, Leeds, Fulham, Wigan and Huddersfield; not so great for Aston Villa, West Brom, Charlton, Stoke and Middlesbrough.

5.05pm GMT

Scottish League Two full-times.

5.04pm GMT

Scottish League One full-times.

5.03pm GMT

Scottish Championship full-times.

5.02pm GMT

The League Two full-times.

5.01pm GMT

The League One full-times.

5.00pm GMT

The Championship full-times.

4.59pm GMT

Preston push for an equaliser at Fulham. The home side break up the other end, Aboubakar Kamara making sure of the three points in the fourth minute of injury time. It’s 2-0, and Fulham remain on the shoulders of West Brom and Leeds, six and five points behind in third respectively.

4.56pm GMT

It’s four for Huddersfield! Juninho Bacuna has whistled one into the top corner from 25 yards: 4-0. Blackburn have scrambled a draw at home against Swansea thanks to Bradley Johnson’s 95th-minute deflected shot. It’s 2-2 at Ewood. And it’s all over at West Brom, where in-form Wigan have claimed all three points against the leaders: 0-1.

4.54pm GMT

All the Premier League full-time scores are in.

4.53pm GMT

A third goal for Huddersfield against Charlton. Karlan Grant scores his second of the day: it’s 3-0. Also down at the bottom: Luton equalise against fellow strugglers Stoke in the first minute of injury time, thanks to a James Collins penalty. And a sickener for Ipswich at Blackpool, Joe Nuttall scoring what is surely the winner in the 93rd minute. It’s 2-1 to the Seasiders.

4.50pm GMT

West Brom are pushing hard for an equaliser against Wigan. The relegation haunted Latics refuse to bend. See also Newcastle, who are piling forward against Burnley. They’ve got a two-on-one break in injury time, but Matt Ritchie hesitates and is stripped of possession. The Clarets are refusing to buckle as well.

4.46pm GMT

An equaliser for Birmingham at QPR. Scott Hogan makes it 2-2 with eight minutes remaining. Meanwhile here’s budding playwright Bill Hargreaves: “Of course the underlying funny thing about the Bayern banner is that poor old Dietmar Hopp will be wishing it all to go away, not for it to be highlighted by the stopping of play etc. All we need now is for the post match interviews to go something like this:

Player: Well we had to stop playing because there was a banner saying the owner was the son of a whore.
Interviewer: Son of a what?
Player: A whore. Huge red letters on a white background. You couldn’t miss it. Over there.

4.43pm GMT

Marcos Alonso, goal machine. It’s three in two league games for the rampaging left back. That had been coming, with Chelsea piling on the pressure. Now the Cherries, so close to a precious win, will simply be looking to hang onto a point.

4.40pm GMT

Absolutely nothing has happened at St James’ Park in the match between Newcastle and Burnley. Nothing, nowt, zilch, nada, nix, bugger all. There: if that doesn’t guarantee some late drama, nothing will.

4.39pm GMT

Steve Mounie has scored a second for Huddersfield against Charlton. This win would catapult the Terriers up to the heady heights of 17th in the Championship table, leaving Charlton one place and two points above the relegation zone.

4.37pm GMT

The match at Hoffenheim has restarted. By all accounts, Bayern are just doing keepie-uppies, Jim Baxter style, and Hoffenheim players are merely standing around in the fag-while-waiting-for-bus style. Having a nice chat. Meanwhile the clock ticks on, and the referee doesn’t give two hoots. What is it with touchy billionaires, though? Guess it’s true what the moptops said: money can’t buy you love.

4.34pm GMT

A huge goal in the Championship. Wigan take the lead against West Brom at the Hawthorns, Sam Morsy taking advantage of a post-corner scramble to slam home. If this stays the same, Leeds will be just a point behind the Baggies at the top of the table, while Wigan will escape the dropzone at the expense of Middlesbrough.

4.33pm GMT

The teamsheets are in at Vicarage Road.

Watford: Foster, Femenia, Kabasele, Cathcart, Masina, Hughes, Capoue, Sarr, Doucoure, Deulofeu, Deeney.
Subs: Gomes, Dawson, Welbeck, Chalobah, Gray, Pussetto, Pereyra.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, van Dijk, Robertson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Subs: Adrian, Minamino, Lallana, Origi, Matip, Jones, Hoever.

4.29pm GMT

Chelsea have brought on Michy Batshuayi, in the hope of getting back into the game at Dean Court. The erratic Belgian has just slotted home ... but from a clearly offside position. VAR does its job, and Bournemouth remain 2-1 in the lead.

4.26pm GMT

Fulham are determined to stay on the tails of West Brom and Leeds in the Championship promotion places. Preston North End appear equally determined to give them a hand. David Nugent has put through his own net, giving the Cottagers a 58th-minute lead.

4.24pm GMT

Thin-skinned rich men latest. Bayern Munich are currently 6-0 up at Hoffenheim. But the game has been suspended because their fans are waving an offensive banner against Hoffenheim owner Dietmar Hopp.

Hoffenheim-Bayern stopped for a few minutes with Bayern 6-0 up as fans in the away block unfurl a banner.

“Dietmar Hopp [TSG owner] remains a son of a whore.”

Bayern players run over telling them to stop. So does coach Hansi Flick, shouting at the fans, furiously gesticulating. pic.twitter.com/klFYgzsu4q

4.22pm GMT

Dundee United have a Liverpoolesque lead at the top of the Scottish Championship. Second-placed Inverness Caley Thistle aren’t going to catch them, 18 points behind, albeit with two games in their pocket after today. So a defeat today is unlikely to cause the Arabs too much despair. Nevertheless, the leaders are 2-0 down at Dunfermline, Jonathan Afolabi adding to Kevin Nisbet’s first-half goal.

4.20pm GMT

Freddie Sears has equalised for momentum-free Ipswich Town at Blackpool. Meanwhile QPR, who were trailing 1-0 at half time at home to Birmingham City, have staged a fine comeback, Marc Pugh and Jordan Hugill scoring the goals in a four-minute burst to snatch the lead. And down near the bottom of the Championship, out-of-form Reading are 2-0 up on Barnsley, George Puscas adding to Yakou Meite’s first-half strike.

4.16pm GMT

That cup of half-time tea must have been a tasty drop. Two goals in three minutes, the second from Josh King, has turned things around for the Cherries at Dean Court. Bournemouth, like West Ham, are fighting hard for three precious points.

4.14pm GMT

Saints have brought on Danny Ings. And he’s got a job to do, because Michail Antonio has just stretched West Ham’s lead in a must-win game for the hosts.

4.13pm GMT

A Tomas Kalas own goal has brought Millwall level against Bristol City. It’s 1-1 at the New Den. Meanwhile from og to Ng: in the old Fourth Division, Perry Ng puts Crewe 1-0 up at Morecambe. As things stand, Crewe will be going to the top of the table.

4.11pm GMT

Ryan Fraser swings a corner into the Chelsea mixer. Jefferson Lerma rises highest to bullet a header into the net. It’s his first home goal for the Cherries.

4.09pm GMT

The Championship leaders West Brom are being held at home by lowly Wigan. It’s 0-0, and it’s not exactly been a classic at the Hawthorns. Meanwhile at Ewood Park, Swansea have turned things around completely either side of the half-time break, Andre Ayew stroking home a penalty kick on 48 minutes. It’s 1-2.

4.06pm GMT

Huddersfield are playing Charlton this afternoon, you’ll have noticed. Any excuse to exhume an old Joy of Six. Why not while away the time before the second-half goals start flying in?

4.02pm GMT

Scottish League Two half-times.

4.01pm GMT

Scottish League One half-times.

3.59pm GMT

Scottish Championship half-times.

3.58pm GMT

The League Two half-times.

3.56pm GMT

The League One half-times.

3.54pm GMT

The Championship half-times.

3.51pm GMT

Rhian Brewster, on loan at Swansea from Liverpool, has just whacked one in from 20 yards against Blackburn. It’s an equaliser, right on the stroke of half-time, Sam Gallagher having given Rovers a 25th-minute lead at Ewood Park. Meanwhile Cardiff have levelled up at home against Brentford, Joe Ralls completing a comeback from two goals down just before the half-time whistle. It’s 2-2 at the Cardiff City Stadium.

3.48pm GMT

The Premier League half-times.

3.45pm GMT

As things stand, West Ham catapult themselves up to 16th, leapfrogging Bournemouth and pushing Aston Villa into the bottom three. With games against Arsenal, Wolves, Spurs and Chelsea coming up, a win today couldn’t be more precious.

3.41pm GMT

But not for long! Sebastien Haller bullies Alex McCarthy as the pair compete for a high ball, then slides home. VAR has a check, harshing West Ham’s buzz, but eventually they’re allowed to celebrate properly. The goal stands, and the Hammers deservedly lead on the balance of play.

3.39pm GMT

Could it be one of those days for West Ham? They’ve messed up a three-on-one break, conceded minutes after missing a great chance, and now another goal goes betting. From a corner, Issa Diop fails to connect a couple of yards out, and the score remains 1-1.

3.37pm GMT

Cardiff are back in it against Brentford. Junior Hoilett has halved the deficit on 34 minutes; it’s 1-2. Elsewhere in the Championship, Sheffield Wednesday are capitulating at home against Derby. Jason Knight scores a third for the Rams on the half-hour, and already plenty of Owls regulars have decided enough is enough. They’re off to the pub.

3.35pm GMT

Bournemouth had started well, but it’s Chelsea who have taken the lead at Dean Court (some habits, etc.). Olivier Giroud hits the bar, and Marcos Alonso rifles home the rebound from close range. The destroyers of Spurs last week combine again.

3.32pm GMT

The small margins between success and failure, right here. Pablo Fornals passes up a great chance to make it 2-0 at the London Stadium. Saints break up the other end, Michael Obafemi justifying Ralph Hasenhuttl’s decision to start him ahead of Danny Ings.

3.30pm GMT

Ipswich Town have only won four of their last 18 matches. Once leading the old Third Division (some habits are hard to shake) they’re now adrift of the play-off positions in ninth, and not looking likely to turn things around at Blackpool today. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has given the Seasiders a 26th-minute lead.

3.28pm GMT

Derby County are also out of the blocks quickly this afternoon. Tom Lawrence has scored twice in the first 24 minutes at Sheffield Wednesday. While there’s a mid-table flavour to that one, it’s a relegation scrap at Huddersfield Town, where the hosts have taken the lead against Charlton Athletic through Karlan Ahearne-Grant.

3.24pm GMT

It’s been a fast start by promotion-chasing Brentford at Cardiff. Luca Racic had given the Bees a fifth-minute lead; Bryan Mbeumo has just slotted away a free kick to double their advantage. As things stand, they’re in fourth spot in the Championship.

3.21pm GMT

West Ham are on the front foot now. Haller slams a header straight at Alex McCarthy in the Saints goal. Either side, and the hosts were 2-0 up and well on their way to their first win in nine matches.

3.17pm GMT

A minute after Michail Antonio mess up a three-on-one break, Jarrod Bowen scores on his full debut for West Ham! Saints had been growing into the match after West Ham’s fast start, too.

3.12pm GMT

An early goal in the Championship relegation six-pointer at Kenilworth Road. Sam Vokes has given Stoke City the lead against hosts Luton Town, finishing a move started by Joe Allen. Meanwhile up the other end of the table, play-off hopefuls Bristol City have gone a goal up at Millwall, Pedro Pereira with the opener for the Robins.

3.08pm GMT

West Ham threw down an early marker as well. Within the first minute, Aaron Cresswell clattered into Stuart Armstrong, the Saints midfielder requiring the wet sponge, smelling salts, etc. Armstrong is up and about quickly enough, though, and the game goes on. David Moyes, desperate for the three points today, has clearly told his charges to, er, charge.

3.06pm GMT

The first goal of the traditional 3pm kick-offs in any division is scored by East Fife. Daniel Denholm puts the Fifers a goal up at Forfar. They’ll be dancing on the streets of Farncombe, Surrey, and yes that is a tedious in-joke that about four people in the entire world will get. Meanwhile an early statement of intent by Bournemouth, for whom Philip Billing has wasted a couple of good early chances already. Chelsea aren’t out of the dressing room yet.

3.02pm GMT

Peep! Tootle! Parp! After some coronavirus-defying handshakes at grounds all around the country, the 3pm kick-offs get underway.

2.53pm GMT

Still here? For those of you who haven’t immediately raced straight to the butchers for a couple of pounds of mutton mince, stopping off en route only to pick up a slab of lard ... the Observer’s report of Palace’s win at arch-rivals Brighton has landed. Ed Aarons was our man down by the seaside, and here’s his verdict.

2.50pm GMT

Pre-match pie. Further proof that the BBC licence fee is worth every single penny.

2.41pm GMT

West Ham fans, having been sold a pup by their preposterous board, will be protesting before their match against Southampton. Stephen Cross, of the Hammers United supporters’ club, explains why it’s come to this. Preach on, brother.

2.34pm GMT

Bournemouth v Chelsea team news. Bournemouth welcome back Nathan Ake, Jefferson Lerma, Lewis Cook and Ryan Fraser. Fikayo Tomori replaces Antonio Rudiger in central defence for Chelsea, while Pedro displaces Ross Barkley in midfield. Kepa Arrizabalaga remains on the bench, Willy Caballero continuing in between the sticks.

2.32pm GMT

West Ham United v Southampton team news. Jarrod Bowen makes his full West Ham debut against Southampton. He lines up alongside Sebastien Haller and Michail Antonio as David Moyes goes for all-out attack. Feel free to read those seven words back to yourself, ten times or more if necessary. Meanwhile Saints select Michael Obafemi up front. Danny Ings is once again on the bench, Southampton’s leading scorer perhaps understandably running on fumes after carrying the entire team for the past seven months.

2.29pm GMT

Newcastle United v Burnley team news. Five changes for Newcastle. Steve Bruce replaces Fabian Schar, Valentino Lazaro, Nabil Bentaleb, Sean Longstaff and Allan Saint-Maximin with Javier Manquillo, Matt Ritchie, Isaac Hayden, Jonjo Shelvey and Dwight Gayle. However, Burnley boss Sean Dyche is in If It Ain’t Broke mode: he names the same XI who started the 3-0 win over Bournemouth last week. Chris Wood is among the substitutes after recovering from a hamstring problem.

2.25pm GMT

FULL TIME: Brighton & Hove Albion 0-1 Crystal Palace. It’s also all over at the Amex. Palace win the M23 derby thanks to a second-half Wilfried Zaha goal on the break. Rob Smyth has all the details, plus post-match reaction.

2.24pm GMT

FULL TIME: Hull City 0-4 Leeds United. A stunning second-half display by Leeds. Towards the end of it, they were stroking passes around to cheers of olé! from the away end. The obvious comparison would be to their famous ball-flicking, back-heeling, shoulder-dropping humiliation of Southampton back in 1972, though everyone forgets Don Revie’s side did pretty much the same thing a fortnight earlier against Manchester United.

2.15pm GMT

GOAL! Hull City 0-4 Leeds United (Roberts 84). This is now a rout. A second goal for Tyler Roberts in three minutes, this one a beautiful diving header, meeting Mateusz Klich’s right-wing cross with a header back across George Long and into the top right. Picture-book. Hull will remain four points off the relegation places after this inevitable defeat. They’ve got some big six-pointers coming up against Stoke, Charlton and Middlesbrough, plus extremely tricky away fixtures at Birmingham, West Brom and Bristol City. Survival is far from guaranteed.

2.11pm GMT

GOAL! Hull City 0-3 Leeds United (Roberts 81). Leeds really have cleared out their promotion-chasing pipes after that wobble. A length-of-pitch team move that ends with Jack Harrison teeing up Tyler Roberts to viciously sweep into the bottom right from 12 yards.

2.08pm GMT

Public service announcement: Five Serie A games have been called off as a result of the current Public Health Emergency of International Concern. We remind you because one of them is still showing up on our live scores, you see.

2.03pm GMT

Bournemouth: Ramsdale, Smith, Ake, Stacey, Steve Cook, Billing, King, Lerma, Lewis Cook, Fraser, Callum Wilson.
Subs: Boruc, Francis, Gosling, Solanke, Stanislas, Rico, Harry Wilson.
Chelsea: Caballero, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Tomori, James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso, Mount, Pedro, Giroud.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Rudiger, Barkley, Willian, Loftus-Cheek, Batshuayi, Gilmour.

Newcastle United: Dubravka, Manquillo, Fernandez, Lascelles, Rose, Almiron, Hayden, Shelvey, Ritchie, Gayle, Joelinton.
Subs: Schar, Saint-Maximin, Lejeune, Yedlin, Darlow, Sean Longstaff, Bentaleb.
Burnley: Pope, Bardsley, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor, Hendrick, Cork, Westwood, McNeil, Vydra, Rodriguez.
Subs: Brownhill, Wood, Brady, Hart, Pieters, Lennon, Long.

1.59pm GMT

GOAL! Brighton & Hove Albion 0-1 Crystal Palace (Ayew 70). An opener at the Amex, and it’s come against the run of play. Rob Smyth has the details.

1.57pm GMT

Click and enjoy.

1.49pm GMT

So having said nothing much was happening, Leeds nearly make it three in spectacular fashion. Jack Harrison takes a touch out on the right before whipping a power-curler towards the top left. He’s beaten Hull keeper George Long all ends up, but the ball twangs off the upright and away from danger. That would have been a peach. It’s still just 0-2. Hull have half-an-hour to get back into this.

1.46pm GMT

Leeds last won promotion from the second tier in 1990, the same year Liverpool last became champions of England. A good omen for both clubs? Or a tenuous coincidence crowbarred into a rolling blog while nothing much else is going on? The choice, dear reader, is yours.

1.42pm GMT

So after that rocky period, Leeds seem to have pulled themselves together as they chase that elusive return to the top flight. If they close this one out, they’ll be eight points clear of third-placed Fulham, who entertain sixth-placed Preston North End this afternoon.

1.38pm GMT

GOAL! Hull City 0-2 Leeds United (Hernandez 47). It hasn’t taken long for Leeds to double their advantage. Jack Harrison crosses long from the left. Patrick Bamford causes confusion in the middle. The ball finds Helder Costa down the inside-right channel. He slips in Pablo Hernandez, who fires a low diagonal shot into the bottom left.

1.33pm GMT

Here we go, then. It’ll be a little while before the 3pm teamsheets land, so in the meantime let’s concentrate on the lunchtime kick-offs. The M23 derby is goalless at half-time, the square root of nix having occurred so far down on the south coast. Rob Smyth is doing his best with that.

Hull City v Leeds United has been a bit more eventful, thankfully. The teams were separated at the break by Luke Ayling’s deflected long-range strike on five minutes. Pablo Hernandez has hit the Hull crossbar, while Leeds keeper Illan Meslier, making his league debut for the club at the age of 19, has been distributing the ball in an esoteric fashion. All set up for a great second half, with Leeds looking to close the gap on leaders West Brom, for a couple of hours at least, and Hull desperately looking for something that’ll put a little more distance between themselves and the relegation places.

12.06pm GMT

There aren’t too many Premier League fixtures being played this afternoon. Just the five. And yet it could prove to be quite a significant day in the 2019-20 Premier League. Brighton and Crystal Palace kicked off an hour ago, and you can follow that live, right here, right now, with our old pal Rob Smyth. Today’s other fixtures are as follows (all 3pm unless stated):

View more on Scott Murray's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on February 29, 2020 09:28

No comments have been added yet.

Scott Murray's profile
3 followers

Scott Murray isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.

delete edit this post