And that’s all we’ve got time for. Tributes are pouring in for Sir Bobby Charlton, with English football having lost one of its genuine all-time greats, arguably the greatest. You can follow them here.
John Brewin watched Brentford deal a harsh Premier League lesson to new boys Burnley.
While Will Unwin saw Manchester City blow hot, then cold, but ultimately hot enough:
Louise Taylor watched Newcastle hit top gear:
And here’s how the table looks, with two more Saturday fixtures to come, as well as Aston Villa v West Ham tomorrow and Spurs v Fulham on Monday.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 9 | 12 | 21 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 9 | 11 | 20 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 | 10 | 20 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 8 | 10 | 20 |
| 5 | Newcastle | 9 | 15 | 16 |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 8 | 7 | 16 |
| 7 | Brighton | 9 | 4 | 16 |
| 8 | West Ham | 8 | 3 | 14 |
| 9 | Man Utd | 8 | -3 | 12 |
| 10 | Crystal Palace | 9 | -4 | 12 |
| 11 | Chelsea | 8 | 4 | 11 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton | 9 | -4 | 11 |
| 13 | Fulham | 8 | -5 | 11 |
| 14 | Brentford | 9 | 2 | 10 |
| 15 | Nottm Forest | 9 | -2 | 10 |
| 16 | Everton | 9 | -5 | 7 |
| 17 | Luton | 9 | -9 | 5 |
| 18 | Burnley | 9 | -16 | 4 |
| 19 | AFC Bournemouth | 9 | -14 | 3 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 8 | -16 | 1 |
The match reports are starting to drop in:
Pick of League One and League Two full-times
League One: Bolton have beaten Northampon 2-1, Charlton hammered Reading 4-0, while Portsmouth needed a late goal to beat Carlisle 1-0 (that’s a tough trip home).
League Two: Stockport saw out an entertaining 3-2 win against Grimsby, Bradford and Wrexham played out a 1-1 draw, while Crewe clinched an eye-catching 4-2 win at Crawley after trailing 2-1.
Updated
Championship full-time scores
Blackburn 1-0 Cardiff
Bristol City 1-0 Coventry
Huddersfield 2-1 QPR
Hull 1-2 Southampton
Boro 1-0 Birmingham
Norwich 2-3 Leeds
Stoke 2-1 Sunderland
Swansea 1-3 Leicester
Watford 1-0 Sheffield Wednesday
West Brom 0-0 Plymouth
FT: Manchester City 2-1 Brighton
City didn’t have everything their own way, dealt a major scare late on after Ansu Fati’s goal and Manuel Akanji’s red card. But they’d raced into a 2-0 lead inside 19 minutes and then did enough to see out the three points. The three points will be all Pep Guardiola cares about. City have gone back to the top – for now.
Scottish Premiership full-time scores
Kilmarnock 3-1 Livingston
Rangers 4-0 Hibernian
FT: Brentford 3-0 Burnley
The Bees will be buzzing this afternoon. They were miles the better side against Vincent Kompany’s boys.
FT: Nottingham Forest 2-2 Luton
A precious point for Rob Edwards’ side, who had trailed 2-0.
FT: Newcastle 4-0 Crystal Palace
A straightforward afternoon for Eddie Howe’s side, clinching their fifth successive home win.
Red card: Manuel Akanji is shown a second yellow and City will have to play the rest of added time with 10 men. Ansu Fati drew the foul from the former Dortmund defender.
This isn’t over yet. We’ve had a big delay, so there’s lots of stoppage time.
FT: Bournemouth 1-2 Wolves
Gary O’Neil will not be forgetting this afternoon in a hurry, while the struggles go on for Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth. His team had led through Dominic Solanke but crumbled in the second half, conceding two goals and having a man sent off. Delirium for Wanderers.
Forest have the ball in the Luton net, but Chris Wood is denied a hat-trick and a dramatic winner by the assistant referee’s flag. Wow, what a moment that would have been. Still 2-2.
Updated
It’s Michael Carrick 1-0 Wayne Rooney Middlesbrough 1-0 Birmingham after a late Morgan Rogers’ goal looks to have sealed a Boro victory.
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 2-2 Luton (Adebayo '90+2)
The City Ground is stunned into silence! What incredible character Luton have shown here, deservedly equalising in stoppage time through Elijah Adebayo.
Updated
“Haaland! Haaland! Haaland!” chant the City fans after a crucial piece of centre forward play from the big fella leads his side up the pitch and away to safety. City are taking it into the corner here, such is their desperation to hold on.
Championship: What a turnaround for Daniel Farke on his return to Carrow Road! Leeds have somehow fought back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2. A Summerville brace has turned the tables. Leicester have made it 3-1 at Swansea and keep on marching on.
GOAL! Brentford 3-0 Burnley (Ghoddos '87)
Three goals and three points for Frank’s boys.
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-2 Wolves (Kalajdzic '88)
Oh sweet revenge for G.O.N. Sasa Kalajdzic has clinched the lead for his Wolverhampton Wanderers. Is that the winner?
Updated
Another Scotland update, from Simon McMahon:
Dundee United 3-0 up and cruising at Firhill, Dominic, which puts the Tannadice men seven points clear of hosts Partick, who remain third, and four ahead of Raith Rovers in second, whose game at Arbroath fell victim to the weather. And RIP Bobby Charlton, a genuine legend of the game.
Scottish Premiership: Rangers 4-0 Hibernian. A Clement start for Philippe.
Updated
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 2-1 Luton (Ogbene '83)
I lied about the points being safe for Forest. We know 2-0 is the most dangerous scoreline. Chiedozie Ogbene reduces the deficit.
Updated
Someone give Wolves a shake. Gary O’Neil could not want this goal any more, could he? They’re locked at 1-1 at his old Bournemouth stomping ground, with a man advantage, but they’re not making it count right now.
Manchester City fans are turning up the volume at the Etihad; they sense their side need a boost.
A pun from Peter Oh.
Man City are tempting Fati.
5/10 for me, Clive.
Championship: Leeds are NOT toast! They’re level at 2-2 with Norwich. Someone wake up the correspondents at Watford v Sheffield Wednesday and West Brom v Plymouth. No sign of goals in either game.
League Two: Stockport are back in front, leading Grimsby 3-2.
Red card: Burnley are toast. Connor Roberts trudges off after picking up his second booking of the day.
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 2-0 Luton (Wood '76)
Chris Wood the scorer, Anthony Elanga the provider. Rinse and repeat. The points look safe for Forest.
Updated
GOAL! Manchester City 2-1 Brighton (Fati '73)
Fair play to Brighton, they’ve deserved that. They’ve been bright, they’ve been bold and they’ve been brilliant in this second half. It comes from a trademark Mitoma dribble and it finishes with a cute Fati finish that beats Ortega at the near post.
Game on?
Updated
An update from Germany, gratefully accepted, from reader Kári Tulinius:
This year’s surprise package in the Bundesliga, VfB Stuttgart, put last year’s surprise package, Union Berlin, to the sword, and find themselves only a point off surprise leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who beat Wolfsburg. It’s early days, but fans of German football might see a real title race this year.
FT scores:
Darmstadt 1-3 RB Leipzig
Freiburg 2-1 Bochum
Hoffenheim 1-3 E Frankfurt
Union Berlin 0-3 Stuttgart
Wolfsburg 1-2 Leverkusen
Mainz v Bayern Munich – teatime kick-ff
Chelsea v Arsenal team news has just dropped and our very own Scott Murray will have all the buildup and updates from this big game at the Bridge.
GOAL! Newcastle 4-0 Crystal Palace (Wilson '67)
Callum Wilson gets in on the act! Can strikers get in on the act? Hmm. Well, he’s made it 4-0, anyway, after a flowing counter-attack cuts apart this beleagured Palace backline.
Updated
Championship: A lifeline for Leeds at Carrow Road, with Shane Duffy scoring his second of the afternoon. This one went into his own net.
Brighton are bringing Billy Gilmour and Ansu Fati on against City. Not a bad pair of subs.
Championship: Leicester are relentless and already look absolute certs for promotion straight back to the Premier League. After falling a goal down to Swansea, they’re now 2-1 in front. Blackburn are also 1-0 up on Cardiff thanks to Joe Rankin-Costello.
GOAL! Brentford 2-0 Burnley (Mbeumo '62)
A first victory in nine matches looks well on its way for Thomas Frank’s side, unless Burnley produce something special.
And who else but Bryan Mbeumo? He continues to shine in the absence of Ivan Toney.
Updated
It’s been announced that Manchester United will wear black armbands against Sheffield United tonight, in tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton. A minute’s silence will also be observed before the game.
Sir Bobby Charlton CBE, 1937-2023.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 21, 2023
Words will never be enough.
Scottish Premiership: Rangers are on course for a victory in Phillipe Clement’s first game, leading 2-0 at home to Hibs, while Kilmarnock are 2-1 up on Livingston, with the other top tier games falling victim to the wet Sottish weather.
Updated
Remember Stockport being 2-0 up on Grimsby and on easy street at Edgeley Park? Yeah, scratch that. It’s 2-2.
As you may suspect, Brighton are still playing high-risk, high-pressing football, despite being in a situation that would cow plenty of their Premier League counterparts, 2-0 down to a fired-up Manchester City at the Etihad.
Red card at Bournemouth: Lewis Cook is shown is marching orders, after a nasty challenge on Hwang is followed by a headbutt, and things have just gone from bad to worse for the Cherries.
Iraola just cannot catch a break, can he?
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-1 Wolves (Cunha '48)
It’s all square for Gary O’Neil.
Updated
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-0 Luton (Wood ‘48)
You always felt Nottingham Forest had the superior firepower to end the stalemate at the City Ground, and Chris Wood has done exactly that!
Updated
Stoke have restored their lead at home to Sunderland, in what’s a big fixture for former Black Cats’ head coach Alex Neil. It’s 2-1 to his side in the Potteries.
Brighton have hooked James Milner at half-time, with Joel Veltman introduced. They’ll hope he fares better against Doku than the veteran Englishman.
Sir Bobby Charlton’s impact on English football, not just Manchester United, was massive. Almost immeasurable. A huge loss.
In terms of today’s games, second halves have started to kick off. We’ll keep giving you all the updates, of course.
Manchester United and England legend Sir Bobby Charlton dies
Some really sad breaking news to bring you.
Updated
Premier League half-time scores
It’s been the Jeremy Doku show at the Etihad, where Manchester City resemble Manchester City again and lead Brighton 2-0. Newcastle have raced into a 3-0 advantage against Crystal Palace with the goals shared around, while Bournemouth and Brentford both hold precarious 1-0 leads over Wolves and Burnley respectively – and both may believe they deserve more.
Oh, and Nottingham Forest 0-0 Luton. Back in five.
Championship half-time scores
Around the grounds after 45 minutes or so in the second tier:
Blackburn 0-0 Cardiff
Bristol City 1-0 Coventry
Huddersfield 2-1 QPR
Hull 1-1 Southampton
Boro 0-0 Birmingham
Norwich 2-0 Leeds
Stoke 1-1 Sunderland
Swansea 1-1 Leicester
Watford 0-0 Sheffield Weds
West Brom 0-0 Plymouth
GOAL! Newcastle 3-0 Crystal Palace (Longstaff '45)
Bang, bang, the Eagles are felled. Sean Longstaff accepts a gift from Marc Guehi and this one looks signed, sealed and delivered.
Updated
GOAL! Newcastle 2-0 Crystal Palace (Gordon '44)
That felt like a matter of time! Anthony Gordon at the far post doubles the Toon advantage, with Murphy nabbing the assist in what’s been a very productive half for him.
Updated
Live pictures of James Trafford in the Burnley goal against Brentford today:
Manchester City lead Brighton 2-0 but there’s a bit of tetchiness going on. Pep Guardiola is fuming at Josko Gvardiol for something or other, while Rodri has reacquainted himself with the referee’s pocket book after needlessly kicking the ball away. Cheer up lads, you’re beating a good side comfortably.
I’ve not mentioned Nottingham Forest v Luton yet – for good reason. There’s very little happening, although reports suggesting the visitors are more than holding their own. It’s 0-0 still.
Updated
Burnley scramble clear to somehow stop Brentford getting themselves a second. James Trafford superbly denied Maupay (oh dear) and then it’s cleared off the line. Vincent Kompany’s charges are on the ropes.
James Milner is having a fairly torrid time back at the Etihad. In fairness, most would struggle playing out of position against the rocket-heeled Jeremy Doku. (My apologies for wrongly saying he scored earlier – it was Alvarez, with Doku assisting, corrected).
Newcastle are getting closer to a deserved second – Anthony Gordon has hit the crossbar at St James’ Park.
Updated
Newcastle are bossing things against Crystal Palace, with Sam Johnstone on hand to smartly save to deny Jacob Murphy a second goal. Eddie Howe’s side are so so good at home these days.
GOAL! Brentford 1-0 Burnley (Wissa, '25)
Both these teams are desperate for the points today, but it’s the Bees who have drawn first blood, as Yoane Wissa breaks the deadlock, to the Gtech Community Stadium’s delight.
Updated
Championship: Sunderland have levelled at Stoke, Swansea have taken a surprise lead against Leicester, while Huddersfield have doubled their advantage against QPR. Southampton take a 1-0 lead up at Hull.
Updated
I simply cannot relate to this. Kudos if you can.
Honestly one of the best decisions I made this year was to give up playing Fantasy Football. My weekend's are now so much less fraught as I'm not constantly upset that Lucas Digne has been yellow-carded or something.
— Richard Osman (@richardosman) October 21, 2023
GOAL! Manchester City 2-0 Brighton (Haaland '19)
Some chap called Erling Haaland has scored. Not sure I’ve seen his name on a scoresheet lately.
(A brilliant rifled left-footer into the top corner; never ever doubt him please, people!)
Updated
We’re all about balance, so here’s a response from David Wood on email to Jeff Sax’s earlier missive on the Merseyside derby:
Let’s just hope the defending will be better than the disgrace at [the] Liverpool derby … Young and Keane handed Liverpool the win. They’re potentially good enough to be number one this year.
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-0 Wolves (Solanke '17)
A big goal for Bournemouth! Marcus Tavernier with a delightful piece of skill to put it on a plate for Dominic Solanke and give Iraola something to smile about on the south coast.
Updated
There’s some concern for Brighton’s Danny Welbeck at the Etihad. The former Manchester United kid looks to have picked up a knock of some sort. Not the ideal start for the Seagulls, but Roberto De Zerbi has Evan Ferguson on the bench should he need him.
Stockport County have gone 2-0 up on Grimsby as the Mad Hatters start their afternoon tea party already. This gif tells the story.
8' | TANTO MAKES IT TWOOOOOOOOO! WHAT A START!!!!!#StockportCounty pic.twitter.com/D2mVZYF9Qm
— Stockport County (@StockportCounty) October 21, 2023
Championship: Huddersfield and Stoke have joined Norwich in racing into an early lead. Leeds, Sunderland and QPR all trailing on the road.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Brighton (Álvarez '7)
And that didn’t take long either! Jeremy Doku is the creator and Julian Álvarez finds the net. He’s some player.
Updated
GOAL! Newcastle 1-0 Crystal Palace (Murphy '4)
Jacob Murphy thought he’d been denied by an offside flag, but after a VAR check he’s adjudged to be onside after latching onto a Kieran Trippier ball. The Mags are up and that didn’t take long … it could be a struggle this afternoon for Roy Hodgson’s boys.
Updated
There’s an early chance for Brentford against Burnley and it drops for Neal Maupay – making his first start since his loan return to his old side. He’s put it wide.
The first goal of the afternoon is scored by Norwich against Leeds! Shane Duffy nods in from a corner at Carrow Road.
Andy Hunter’s report from Anfield is in, as the action gets under way round the grounds:
KICK OFF(S)
“Peep, peep, peep” go the whistles around the country.
Grounds have just held minutes’ silences for the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
Some other games worth keeping an eye on this afternoon:
Rangers v Hibernian – Philippe Clement’s first game in charge
Stockport v Grimsby – Hosts can stretch lead at League Two summit
Bradford v Wrexham – Two heavyweights of the fourth tier clash
No 3pm kick-offs in the WSL today – Martha Thomas blasted a hat-trick to help Tottenham beat Aston Villa 4-2 in the earlier kick off – while Manchester City travel to Leicester in the teatime game.
Today’s Championship fixtures are looking pretty tasty. There’s one confirmed result from lunchtime with managerless Millwall sticking it out for a 1-1 draw at high-flying Preston. Wayne Rooney makes his bow as Birmingham boss against former Manchester United pal Michael Carrick.
Here are those games in full:
Blackburn v Cardiff
Bristol City v Coventry
Huddersfield v QPR
Hull v Southampton
Middlesbrough v Birmingham
Norwich v Leeds
Stoke v Sunderland
Swansea v Leicester
Watford v Sheffield Wednesday
West Brom v Plymouth
One game into the Premier League’s return after international football and already refereeing decisions are dominating the discourse.
Jeff Sax emails in:
Let’s just hope the refereeing will be better than the disgrace at [the] Liverpool derby … The referee handed Liverpool the win. They’re not good enough to be number one this year.
What a footballer he is.
✨ Mo Salah has scored more goals than Kenny Dalglish and Steven Gerrard at Anfield (105).@footballontnt | #LIVEVE pic.twitter.com/LRvfp8buUw
— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) October 21, 2023
FT: Liverpool 2-0 Everton
Mo Salah x 2 and once again I’m berating myself for not putting him in my Fantasy Premier League team. That win puts Liverpool top of the table on goal difference – for the time being.
It’s of no surprise to anyone that Kalvin Phillips is on the Manchester City bench today. He’s pretty much taken up residence there for the past 14 to 15 months. What price a January move, then? Pep Guardiola hinted at one in his pre-match press conference.
While I grab a pre-match brew and we take in the final stages of Liverpool 1-0 Everton, here’s some afternoon reading for you:
Nottingham Forest v Luton team news
Your final set of teamsheets for today’s Premier League 3pm kick-offs, with Andros Townsend on the Luton bench after his free transfer …
☝️ One change from #CRYNFO.
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) October 21, 2023
🔁 Elanga into the XI.
Our line-up to take on @LutonTown.
📋 #NFOLUT
Two changes for your Hatters. ✌️ pic.twitter.com/JIaxZswg9l
— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) October 21, 2023
Newcastle v Crystal Palace team news
Newcastle: Pope; Trippier, Lascelles, Schär, Burn; Longstaff, Guimarães, Joelinton; Murphy, Wilson, Gordon
Subs: Dubravka, Dummett, Tonali, Targett, Isak, Hall, Livramento, Almirón, Anderson.
Crystal Palace: Johnstone; Ward, Andersen, Guéhi, Mitchell; Lerma, Doucouré, Hughes; Ayew, Mateta, Edouard
Subs: Matthews, Holding, Franca, Clyne, Richards, Ahamada, Riedewald, Rak-Sakyi, Ozoh.
Updated
Man City v Brighton team news
Ederson on the bench for Manchester City, but Rodri is straight back into Pep Guardiola’s starting lineup.
Manchester City: Ortega; Walker, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol; Rodri, Bernardo, Foden; Doku, Alvarez, Haaland
Subs: Ederson, Dias, Phillips, Ake, Kovacic, Grealish, Gomez, Nunes, Lewis
Brighton: Steele; Milner, Dunk, Igor Julio, March; Baleba, Gross; Adingra, Welbeck, Mitoma; João Pedro
Subs: Verbruggen, Webster, Van Hecke, Veltman, Dahoud, Gilmour, Lallana, Fati, Ferguson
Brentford v Burnley team news
Brentford: Flekken; Ajer, Collins, Pinnock, Onyeka; Jensen, Nørgaard, Janelt; Mbeumo, Wissa, Maupay
Subs: Strakosha, Zanka, Ghoddos, Mee, Roerslev, Yarmoliuk, Ji-soo, Olakigbe, Brierley.
Burnley: Trafford; Roberts, Al Dakhil, O’Shea, Taylor; Berge, Cullen; Trésor, Amdouni, Odobert; Foster
Subs: Muric, Cork, Brownhill, Delcroix, Redmond, Bruun Larsen, Rodriguez, Zaroury, Koleosho.
Bournemouth v Wolves team news
Former Bristol City midfielder Alex Scott starts for under-fire Andoni Iraola, as Gary O’Neil faces his former club at the Vitality Stadium. Mat Doherty is back in the Wolves lineup.
Alex Scott makes his debut for the Cherries 🙌
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) October 21, 2023
Our team for #BOUWOL ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/3qyOyyXOcf
✌️ Two changes from #WOLAVL
— Wolves (@Wolves) October 21, 2023
🇮🇪 Doherty at right back
🇲🇱 Traore into midfield
How we line-up to face @afcbournemouth.
🐺📋 @AstroPay_OK pic.twitter.com/UTKSeU1Il1
Let’s get straight into the team news. They’re about to drop …
Updated
Preamble
Good afternoon! Eesh, that was a long international break, wasn’t it? And with England stinking the place out in the Cricket World Cup and likely to be dumped from the Rugby World Cup tonight in a double Saffa-smashing, thank goodness for the Premier League. You can always rely on it.
It returned with the Merseyside derby this lunchtime of course, which is still ongoing. There’s a veritable feast on offer this Saturday – an incredible five 3pm kick-offs, with two evening games later on to boot. Can Manchester City get back to winning ways at home to Brighton? Probably. Can Newcastle flex their muscles against Crystal Palace? Probably. Can Bournemouth win a game? Probably not.
Let’s see how accurate, or wildly inaccurate those predictions prove to be. Stick with us for the latest.
