Premier League match reports
That’s the lot for today.
Here are today’s Premier League match reports so far:
And here is Bournemouth 0-2 Arsenal (latest score) – live!
Updated
If you missed it – here’s Karen Carney on Arsenal’s fast start:
“The Arsenal” are 2-0 up at Bournemouth and looking set to overtake Spurs at the top with three wins from three.
Updated
League Two final scores
Barrow 1-0 Harrogate
Colchester United 1-3 Leyton Orient
Crawley Town 0-2 AFC Wimbledon
Crewe 2-2 Northampton
Doncaster 2-1 Salford City
Gillingham 0-0 Walsall
Grimsby Town 0-0 Sutton United
Mansfield Town 2-1 Stockport County
Newport County 2-1 Tranmere Rovers
Stevenage 2-1 Carlisle United
Swindon Town 3-0 Rochdale
Hartlepool United 1-3 Bradford City
Arsenal are 2-0 up at Bournemouth, Ødegaard again. Scenes.
League One final scores
Barnsley 0-3 Wycombe Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Burton Albion 0-2 Port Vale
Charlton 1-1 Cambridge
Exeter 0-1 Cheltenham
Fleetwood Town 0-0 Derby
Forest Green 0-3 Plymouth
MK Dons 1-1 Accrington Stanley
Oxford 1-1 Morecambe
Peterborough United 4-0 Lincoln City
Portsmouth 3-1 Bristol Rovers
Shrewsbury Town 0-3 Ipswich Town
Updated
Chelsea have expressed interest in signing the Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire, reports Jamie Jackson:
Arsenal lead at Bournemouth through Martin Ødegaard after a lovely bit of work by the in-form forward Gabriel Jesus. Follow it live here:
Updated
Fulham 3-2 Brentford was surely the pick of the 3pm kick-offs in the Premier League, and here’s the match report:
The substitute Iliman Ndiaye scored twice as Sheffield United claimed a 3-0 victory over Blackburn that put them top of the Championship. Ndiaye’s double came after Oliver Norwood scored the opener.
United boss Paul Heckingbottom made several changes to his lineup for their third game in six days. Oli McBurnie and Reda Khadra formed a new-look strike partnership, with John Fleck returning in midfield. For the visitors, Tayo Edun was handed his first start of the season and Sam Gallagher was recalled to the starting lineup.
Anel Ahmedhodzic went close to giving the hosts an early lead, forcing a save from Thomas Kaminski with a header. McBurnie then put a header wide and the United striker had another opportunity to score moments later.
With Kaminski off his line, Ash Phillips made a block to keep out McBurnie’s goal-bound shot. McBurnie also put a header off-target before United took the lead in the 31st minute. Norwood sent a curling free-kick over the wall, leaving Kaminski motionless.
Early in the second half, Lewis Travis had Blackburn’s first effort of note with a shot which swerved away from Wes Foderingham’s left-hand post. McBurnie looked set to end his goal drought following John Egan’s knock-down, but he was denied by Kaminski’s leg.
The keeper thwarted McBurnie again moments later with a near-post save. Ndiaye made it 2-0 after 73 minutes when he diverted Sander Berge’s shot past Kaminski and was on target again six minutes later with a superb individual goal, running from the centre circle before finding the net into the corner.
Chris Basham headed over and Brewster put a low shot from distance straight at Kaminski in the closing stages. It was a dominant display from United, who were never seriously tested by a Blackburn side who had won three of their opening four games of the season but have now suffered back-to-back defeats. (PA Media)
Updated
Andy Hunter reports from Goodison Park after Everton snatched a point against Forest:
Championship final scores
Birmingham City 0-1 Wigan Athletic
Burnley 3-3 Blackpool
Preston North End 0-0 Watford
QPR 1-1 Rotherham
Reading 1-0 Middlesbrough
Sheffield United 3-0 Blackburn Rovers
Stoke City 0-1 Sunderland
Swansea City 0-2 Luton Town
West Bromwich Albion 5-2 Hull City
Updated
Scottish Premiership final scores
Dundee United 0-3 St Mirren
Motherwell 1-0 Livingston
Ross County 1-0 Kilmarnock
St Johnstone 0-1 Aberdeen
Hibernian 2-2 Rangers
A fine point for Forest at Everton, but they were tantalisingly close to a second win of the season. A first victory on the road would have been a massive lift … but there are plenty of positive signs, regardless, for Steve Cooper’s men.
Iconic 🏹 pic.twitter.com/BUDJYFDlQV
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) August 20, 2022
Simon Mail is our man on the scene at Selhurst Park in sunny south London, where Crystal Palace came back from a goal down to beat Aston Villa 3-1:
Ben Fisher’s report from the King Power, where Che Adams’s second-half double turned the match on its head:
Updated
Here, in the form of an actual article, is that aforementioned news from the Bundesliga, where Werder Bremen stunned Borussia Dortmund with three late goals, to win 3-2:
I’m not going anywhere for a while, and will be posting more news and updates imminently, but Bournemouth v Arsenal is LIVE here with Barry Glendenning:
Bundesliga drama!
Werder Bremen scored three times in the final minutes to come from two down and snatch a stunning 3-2 victory at Borussia Dortmund that ended the hosts’ winning start to the season.
Goals from Lee Buchanan in the 89th minute and Niklas Schmidt in stoppage time brought them level before Oliver Burke thundered a shot past keeper Gregor Kobel.
Dortmund’s Julian Brandt had fired past Werder keeper Jiri Pavlenka in first-half stoppage time to take an unexpected lead after a dire 45 minutes for the hosts.
Werder, who had 10 shots on goal compared with Dortmund’s two by the 75th minute, were the more adventurous side throughout, their passing game more fluid and creative and their attacks more dangerous.
But they were caught out again when Raphael Guerreiro tried his luck from 25 metres out and beat Pavlenka with a low shot in the 77th minute.
The visitors, however, refused to give up and scored what might have been a consolation goal through youth international Lee Buchanan’s superb strike into the top corner in the 89th.
But Schmidt then drew them level before Burke’s stunning winner deep in extra time, which left Dortmund on six points from their first three games.
Champions Bayern Munich, also on six, are in action at VfL Bochum on Sunday. (Reuters)
CORRECTION: Birmingham City 0-1 Wigan Athletic is in stoppage time in the Championship!
Championship final scores
Burnley 3-3 Blackpool
Preston North End 0-0 Watford
QPR 1-1 Rotherham
Reading 1-0 Middlesbrough
Sheff Utd 3-0 Blackburn Rovers
Stoke City 0-1 Sunderland
Swansea City 0-2 Luton
West Brom 5-2 Hull City
Burnley and Blackpool are 3-3 deep into stoppage time, Wigan are 1-0 up at Birmingham City …
Updated
Full-time! Crystal Palace 3-1 Aston Villa
They fell behind to a goal by Watkins but two from Zaha and one from Mateta grab three points for Palace!
Full-time! Fulham 3-2 Brentford
Brentford are brought back down to earth by Fulham and Mitrovic’s headed winner!
Full-time! Everton 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Demarai Gray’s 88th-minute goal comes to the rescue for Everton, and for Frank Lampard.
Full time! Leicester 1-2 Southampton
Che Adams’ double settles it.
Scottish Premiership latest:
Dundee United 0-3 St Mirren
Motherwell 1-0 Livingston
Ross County 1-0 Kilmarnock
St Johnstone 0-1 Aberdeen
In the early kick-off: Hibernian 2-2 Rangers
Updated
Goal! Fulham 3-2 Brentford (Mitrovic 90)
A towering header by Mitrovic, the Fulham goal machine, looks to have won it against Brentford, who will be devastated having fought back to 2-2 from two down! But what a cracking result for Fulham this would be.
Updated
Burnley and Blackpool are both down to 10 men, in that game that’s 3-3 … drama!
Goal! Everton 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Demarai Gray (VAR permitting) levels for Everton. How Lampard needed that … Gray chases on to a long ball from Pickford and clips the ball beyond Dean Henderson, and it’s all square at Goodison Park.
Updated
West Brom are 5-1 up on Hull in the Championship!
Goal! Leicester 1-2 Southampton (Adams 84)
Che Adams at the double for Saints – he only came on to the field after 59 minutes and has turned the match on its head. Wonderful for them, but a dreadful state of affairs for poor old Leicester.
Updated
Goal! Everton 0-1 Nottingham Forest (Johnson 81)
Forest had been growing into the game – and Brennan Johnson follows up on the rebound to put Steve Cooper’s men in front! I think Dawson on Sky said it was an initial shot by Yates from distance that was parried by Jordan Pickford. What a result this would be for Forest! And what a calamity for Everton, who would be pointless after three matches!
Updated
Burnley 3-3 Blackpool!
In the Championship a grandstand finish awaits at Turf Moor: It’s now Burnley 3-2 Blackpool with 15 mins left …
Gibbs-White nearly creates a goal for Forest at Goodison Park … it’s still 0-0 there.
76' - Superb from Gibbs-White as he beats a couple of defenders before seeing his cross fall Neco who drills a shot wide
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) August 20, 2022
🔵⚪️ #EFC 0-0 #NFFC 🌳🔴
Updated
In League One, Ipswich are 2-0 up on Shrewsbury and will be top with four wins and a draw from five matches, unless the Shrews can stage a late comeback. Peterborough are 4-0 up on Lincoln and will be second as it stands, a point behind Ipswich.
Goal! Crystal Palace 3-1 Aston Villa (Mateta 71)
More good football, by the sounds of it, and Patrick Vieira looks set to win the managerial battle of the former midfield legends v Steven Gerrard.
Updated
Goal! Fulham 2-2 Brentford (Toney 77)
Wissa beats his man and crosses for Toney, who finishes, and this one counts! Brentford are level.
Updated
Fulham 2-1 Brentford: Toney has another goal ruled out, although this one was apparently a mile off side. Despite that, Merson describes Fulham as very comfortable against the Bees.
Championship latest scores
Birmingham City 0-0 Wigan
Burnley 3-1 Blackpool
Preston North End 0-0 Watford
QPR 1-1 Rotherham
Reading 1-0 Middlesbrough
Sheff Utd 1-0 Blackburn
Stoke City 0-1 Sunderland
Swansea City 0-1 Luton
West Brom 3-0 Hull City
Goal! Leicester 1-1 Southampton (Adams 68)
Sounds like this one has safely survived any danger from the VAR, and Saints are level through the substitute Che Adams, who only came on nine minutes before equalising.
Updated
It’s only Barry Glendenning with Bournemouth v Arsenal! (Kick-off 5.30pm UK time)
Scottish Premiership latest:
Dundee United 0-2 St Mirren
Motherwell 0-0 Livingston
Ross County 0-0 Kilmarnock
St Johnstone 0-0 Aberdeen
A goal-fest it is not.
Morgan Gibbs-White is on for Nottingham Forest at Goodison Park, where it sounds like it’s been a lively game. Can he make the breakthrough for Steve Cooper’s men?
Jamie Vardy clears a ball off the line for Leicester, who still lead Southampton by a goal to nil.
Goal! Crystal Palace 2-1 Aston Villa
Zaha’s penalty is initially saved by Emiliano Martínez but the Palace winger scores on the follow-up! And there’s a bit of afters between them, too. Palace lead for the first time having fallen behind to an early goal by Ollie Watkins at Selhurst Park.
Updated
Palace have a penalty against Villa …
West Brom now lead Hull City 3-0 in the Championship, while Sheffield United top the virtual table, leading Blackburn Rovers 1-0 in the second half …
“Looking at the eight teams playing in the EPL right now, who do you think will finish highest in the table?” emails Luke Jones. “I think I’ll take Brentford at 10th. Would anyone put two of these teams in the top half?”
Goal! Leicester 1-0 Southampton (Maddison)
The England schemer Maddison bends a cheeky free-kick around the defensive wall, and the Foxes lead at Filbert Street! No, it’s the King Power these days isn’t it? Anyway it’s 1-0 to Leicester.
Updated
Disallowed goal! Fulham 2-1 Brentford
What sounds like a wonderful finish by Ivan Toney, one touch to control and one touch to hammer it into the net. I don’t think many people would have predicted Brentford to lose today, and here they are, back from two goals down to parity at Craven Cottage …
BUT NO! The dreaded VAR has ruled it out for a marginal offside call. Fulham are still 2-1 up.
Updated
Anyway, we’re back under way for the second halves in the Premier League and beyond.
Regarding Leicester v Southampton: “I don’t understand why Patson Daka is on the bench,” emails Kári Tulinius.
“I didn’t watch Leicester religiously last season, but from what I saw he made their attack much more fluid and dangerous. To be honest, I don’t really understand what Leicester’s plan is this season.”
And Eamonn Harrigan chips in: “Weslley Fofana, March 2022: “I’m really happy to be here. It’s my club, I love the fans, so I’m really happy and really looking forward to being back playing.”
“City should reject all bids for him.”
A smattering of half-time reading:
Premier League half-time scores
Palace 1-1 Villa
Everton 0-0 Nottingham Forest
Fulham 2-1 Brentford
Leicester 0-0 Southampton
Updated
Fulham 2-1 Brentford (Norgaard)
“Complete and utter game on now,” roars Paul Merson on Sky Sports after a deflected side-footed volley by the Dane, Christian Norgaard, puts the Bees right back in it at Craven Cottage.
Updated
In Scotland, St Mirren lead troubled Dundee United by a goal to nil.
The other three are all 0-0 – it looks like St Johnstone v Aberdeen kicked off late.
Wesley Fofana was left out of Leicester’s squad today – Fabrizio Romano reports that terms have been agreed by the player with Chelsea, but the fee is still up for grabs.
Brendan Rodgers confirms: “Wesley Fofana out of the squad - because he wasn't in right frame of mind to be involved today”. 🚨🔵 #LCFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 20, 2022
Fofana agreed personal terms with Chelsea on six year deal - but still waiting on new, official bid.
Updated
In League One, Sheffield Wednesday lead Bolton 2-0 away from home.
Updated
It’s Everton 0-0 Forest and Leicester 0-0 Southampton with less than 10 minutes until half time in the Premier League’s 3pm kick-offs. Palace 1-1 Villa, Fulham 2-0 Brentford.
Updated
Tella, the on-loan Southampton man, doubles up for Burnley! It’s 3-1 against Blackpool in that Championship encounter at Turf Moor.
Updated
Will Manchester United stay up, wonders Rob.
@LukeMcLaughlin afternoon Luke. As a Brighton fan I’m finding this Fulham-Brentford scoreline increasingly worrying! Our opening day triumph looking less and less like a dismantling of a once-proud club and more like a crucial three points against fellow relegation contenders
— Rob Wolf Petersen (@adayinthewolfie) August 20, 2022
“Whenever a Tottenham player has a bad game I say to myself I could’ve done a better job there,” says Yash Gupta on email. “Well, when Emerson took a hell of a kick in his royals and still managed to get up after 20 seconds, and was up and running, fair play. There is a reason he is a football player and I’m a armchair football fan.”
Yes, that looked painful, but Spurs still managed to grind out a gutsy (ballsy?) win against Wolves in today’s early Premier League kick-off:
Updated
Burnley 2-1 Blackpool is the latest from Turf Moor inside 30 minutes in another high-scoring clash, in the Championship this time. Brownhill and Tella put Burnley 2-0 up and Corbeanu has got Blackpool on the board.
Updated
Disallowed goal! Crystal Palace 1-1 Aston Villa
Goals, goals, goals! More goals! Palace lead, having come from behind, inside 30 minutes, as Schlupp cracks in a fine shot into the corner …
But no. It’s disallowed for offside. Ah, you have to love VAR, don’t you?
OH SCHLUPPY!!!#CPFC | #CRYAVL pic.twitter.com/5z6piaLwWh
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) August 20, 2022
Updated
Goal! Fulham 2-0 Brentford (Palhinha)
Yes, it is going to be one of those “Wow, Man Utrd really are terrible” afternoons! Fulham double their lead against the Bees, who thrashed Manchester United 4-0 last weekend, and it’s the new man Joao Palhinha with the goal. A lovely header, says Paul Merson on the old Soccer Saturday. Fulham could be 4-0 up by now.
Updated
Fulham are hammering Brentford 1-0. Mitrovic goes close!
Gary Naylor weighs into the Rondon debate.
RonDONE more like - HONK! @LukeMcLaughlin
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) August 20, 2022
Personally I never thought Rondon was as bad as people make out. Even if not scoring (if, I hear you cry?!) he’s a handful.
Mitrovic hits the onion bag for Fulham against Brentford, and looks to have put them 2-0 up, but he’s offside.
Updated
“Yes, Everton is dominating Forest so far,” emails Mary Waltz (watching, I believe, from across the pond). “But just like the first two fixtures we have no clue when we approach the box. The fact that we are having to rely on a past-his-prime Rondon for scoring is not a positive sign for Toffee fans.”
It’s a fair point, Mary.
Tottenham fans, if you want to see your team atop the embryonic Premier League table, check this out.
Updated
“Afternoon Luke,” emails Simon McMahon. “Even at this stage of the season, Dundee United could do with three points at home to St. Mirren today after heavy losses to AZ Alkmaar and Hearts. It’s not quite reached Manchester United levels of mismanagement yet, and we don’t have to play Liverpool on Monday, but still. Get a grip United.
“Today’s other games are Motherwell v Livingston, Ross County v Kilmarnock and St. Johnstone v Aberdeen, while Hibs and Rangers drew 2-2 in the early kick off, and Celtic host Hearts tomorrow.”
Hey, I already mentioned Rangers! Thanks for the email Simon.
Goal! Crystal Palace 1-1 Aston Villa (Zaha)
It’s raining goals in the Premier League. The Eagles are level at Selhurst Park.
Updated
Nine-man Rangers coughed up a late equaliser in a 2-2 Scottish Premiership draw at Hibs. Here’s the report:
The former Forest defender Michael Dawson, on Sky Sports, tells us that Everton have started in the ascendancy at Goodison Park.
Updated
Goal! Crystal Palace 0-1 Aston Villa (Watkins)
A tidy finish by the some-time England international and Gerrard’s Villa lead in south London! It came from a speculative ball forward by Tyrone Mings.
Updated
Goal! Fulham 1-0 Brentford (Decordova-Reid)
Is this going to be one of those ‘Wow, Manchester United must be really bad’ afternoons? Decordova-Reid, or Reid as some have it, has a tap-in to put Fulham in front after the ball comes back off the woodwork.
Updated
Here we go then. 3pm is literally seconds away. Let’s do this.
Jonathan Liew witnessed Spurs 1-0 Wolves in north London, and here is his match report:
I just searched for the oldest Nottingham Forest photos in our picture library. Safe to say they don’t go back as far as 1892 and the first-ever league match at Goodison. But here’s Stan Collymore celebrating a goal against Palace at Selhurst Park in 1995. I was at that game, fact fans. The Collymore goal was a typical mix of audacity, skill, pace and power. Bryan Roy scored the first … Iain Dowie got the Palace goal!
Updated
You’ve just got time, before the kick-offs at 3pm, to read Jonathan Liew’s latest, on Marcus Rashford:
Updated
Brendan Rodgers, on Sky Sports, is asked about the absences of Tielemans and Fofana: “One is a change in system and two … I mentioned in the week, coming into a Premier League game maybe not in the right frame of mind [is not what Rodgers wants'] … and that’s the reason for the change.”
“We’ve got to focus on ourselves and build on some of the good things we did last week,” reckons Forest manager Steve Cooper, via the club’s Twitter.
"We've got to focus on ourselves and build on some of the good things we did last week.
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) August 20, 2022
"There are aspects we can improve on and we want to give ourselves the best chance of playing as well as we can today." 🗣 pic.twitter.com/wwtJzOAV9j
“Everton vs Forest at Goodison Park afternoon is a repeat of the first ever competitive match at Goodison, 130 years ago on 3rd September 1892,” emails Ed Shardlow.
“My distant cousin, Forest “inside left” Horace Pike scored the first goal. Here’s how the match report described it:
“The visitors showed good play, being very quick on the ball, and Jardine was in trouble, Pike making a gallant attempt to lower his colours. Only a corner, however, resulted, but from this Pike had his revenge for he deftly placed a goal.”
“The game, which was also Forest’s first ever game in the top division, ended 2-2.”
Thanks for the email Ed. Yes, it’s good to see Forest back in the top flight, and Everton v Forest is a fixture that just feels right, somehow.
Everton v Nottingham Forest teams
Salomon Rondon starts up front for Everton against Forest, with Tom Davies also coming into midfield. The injured Abdoulaye Doucoure drops out, along with Dwight McNeil. For Forest, Steve Cook comes in at centre-back for the injured Moussa Niakhate with new arrivals Freuler, Dennis, Kouyate, Biancone and Gibbs-White all on the bench.
Everton: Pickford, Holgate, Coady, Tarkowski, Patterson, Davies, Iwobi, Mykolenko, Rondon, Gordon, Gray. Substitutes: Keane, Allan, McNeil, Onana, Begovic, Alli, Coleman, Gbamin, Ruben Vinagre.
Nottm Forest: Henderson, Worrall, Cook, McKenna, Williams, Mangala, O’Brien, Toffolo, Lingard, Johnson, Awoniyi. Substitutes: Kouyate, Freuler, Dennis, Biancone, Gibbs-White, Hennessey, Surridge, Mighten, Yates.
Referee: Andre Marriner
Updated
Leicester v Southampton teams
No sign of Wesley Fofana in the Foxes squad amid speculation on his future. Harvey Barnes and Ayoze Perez replace Fofana and Youri Tielemans (another player being linked with a move away from the King Power). Sekou Mara, Joe Aribo and Adam Armstrong are all in the Saints lineup.
Leicester: Ward, Castagne, Evans, Amartey, Justin, Ndidi, Perez, Dewsbury-Hall, Maddison, Barnes, Vardy. Substitutes: Soyuncu, Tielemans, Albrighton, Iheanacho, Daka, Mendy, Praet, Iversen, Thomas.
Southampton: Bazunu, Walker-Peters, Kotchap, Salisu, Djenepo, Ward-Prowse, Lavia, Elyounoussi, Mara, Adam Armstrong, Aribo. Substitutes: McCarthy, Lyanco, Romeu, Adams, Stuart Armstrong, Diallo, Walcott, Bednarek, Valery.
Referee: Michael Salisbury (Lancashire)
Updated
It’s official: Tottenham have beaten Wolves 1-0, and are top of the table for now at least, with seven points from three matches. It was a Kane header that won it, his 250th Tottenham goal. Get reaction with Barry Glendenning:
Three. Big. Points.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 20, 2022
COYS!!! 👏 pic.twitter.com/AYq36I1hyf
Updated
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa teams
Steven Gerrard was asked about Buendia’s impact last weekend and politely pointed out to a reporter that he, Gerrard, is the one picking the team. Anyway, Buendia starts today, while Ezri Konsa replaces the injured Diego Carlos and Leon Bailey comes in for Danny Ings. Odsonne Edouard is the one change for Palace, with Nathaniel Clyne dropping to the bench.
Crystal Palace: Guaita, Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell, Doucoure, Schlupp, Ayew, Eze, Zaha, Edouard. Substitutes: Milivojevic, Olise, Mateta, Clyne, Hughes, Johnstone, Ebiowei, Richards, Whitworth.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne, McGinn, Kamara, Ramsey, Bailey, Watkins, Buendia. Substitutes: Douglas Luiz, Ings, Chambers, Augustinsson, Young, Nakamba, Coutinho, Olsen, Archer.
Referee: Andrew Madley
Updated
Fulham v Brentford teams
Bernd Leno, formerly of Arsenal, makes his debut for Fulham in goal. For Brentford there is one change after that thrashing of Manchester United: Yoane Wissa starts in place of Mads Roerslev.
Fulham: Leno, Tete, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson, Reed, Joao Palhinha, Reid, Andreas Pereira, Stansfield, Mitrovic. Substitutes: Rodak, Duffy, Cairney, Chalobah, Mbabu, Diop, Francois, Harris, Ablade.
Brentford: Raya, Hickey, Jansson, Mee, Henry, Dasilva, Norgaard, Jensen, Mbeumo, Toney, Wissa. Substitutes: Ghoddos, Onyeka, Dervisoglu, Strakosha, Lewis-Potter, Baptiste, Janelt, Sorensen, Roerslev.
Referee: Peter Banks
🚨 𝙏𝙀𝘼𝙈 𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 🚨
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) August 20, 2022
Here's how we line-up for the derby 🐝#BrentfordFC | #FULBRE pic.twitter.com/CQuKR8RfLJ
Updated
Up in Scotland, Rangers are beating Hibs 2-1 away in the Premiership, inside the final 20 minutes, but have just had John Lundstram sent off.
With regard to Chelsea’s pursuit of the Everton forward Anthony Gordon – Frank Lampard wants to keep him, but admits that he may not still be at Goodison Park come the end of the transfer window:
Updated
Harry Kane has just headed Spurs into the lead against Wolves, thanks largely to a crafty flick-on at the near post by Ivan Perisic. That’s 250 Tottenham goals for Kane.
Barcelona have still not been authorised to register French defender Jules Koundé as a player, one of their marquee summer signings, as the club works to comply with LaLiga’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, manager Xavi said on Saturday.
“At the moment, we don’t know anything. We are on stand-by,” Xavi saidtheir trip to San Sebastian to face Real Sociedad on Sunday. Barça need to comply with La Liga’s salary cap rules to register Koundé, and the potential sales of strikers Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Memphis Depay could make this possible.
“We are waiting. Koundé is a great leader and a great player. Hopefully he shows it soon - tomorrow, if he can play. He has trained very well, I see him in good spirits, but we need to sell players to be able to register him.”
Koundé missed out on Barça’s season debut against Rayo Vallecano after La Liga prevented the club from registering him alongside his fellow summer signings Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha.
“The transfer market ends on August 31 and we don’t know what will happen,” Xavi said. “Auba and Memphis are still here, so tomorrow we will use them. But the priority is to register Koundé.” (Reuters)
Updated
And here is Will Unwin on Erik ten Hag and the fire-fighting he is having to do so early in his reign at Manchester United – with Liverpool looming large on Monday night:
“Trying to adjust to a new set of tactical and stylistic rules is hard enough for footballers at the best of times but when low on confidence it is almost impossible.”
As it stands, the highly underwhelming encounter between Tottenham and Wolves is scoreless at half time. The second half, in fact, has just this second kicked off.
While we await team news for the 3pm kick-offs, why not read Barney Ronay on the kerfuffle surrounding Graeme Souness and his ‘man’s game’ comments last week?
“I think what he was trying to express, poorly, was his enthusiasm for letting the game flow, a lust for extreme physicality, and his own obvious nostalgia for the world of his youth, a place where Wulfstan is always the noblest and bravest of all warriors, still out there defending the bridge from the Vikings.”
Preamble
Is there much point in paying attention to the Premier League table after two matches? Probably not, but let’s do it anyway: promoted Nottingham Forest are currently 10th following a morale-boosting win against West Ham last weekend, while Everton are nought from two and languishing in 18th place with defeats by Chelsea and Aston Villa on the books.
The story for Steve Cooper’s Forest has been about multiple arrivals: Morgan Gibbs-White became their 16th summer signing on Thursday, while for Everton the recent focus has largely been on resisting Chelsea’s attempt to lure Anthony Gordon to Stamford Bridge. Whatever the future holds for Gordon, Frank Lampard will certainly be grappling with a full-blown crisis and widespread wailing from the fans should Everton lose again today.
The other three 3pm kick-offs, no less importantly, are Leicester v Southampton, Fulham v Brentford and Crystal Palace v Aston Villa, with the managerial match-up between two former midfield generals, Patrick Vieira and Steven Gerrard, providing a tasty sub-plot at Selhurst Park.
Team news and more coming right up for all four 3pm kick-offs, but meanwhile, Barry Glendenning has Tottenham v Wolves – live! – right here:
