And one Premier League report for luck: Brighton 0-0 Norwich.
Ben Fisher was at Molineux for Wolves 2-1 Aston Villa.
Chelsea 1-4 Brentford. Some story.
Louise Taylor on the James Ward-Prowse party trick stalling Leeds’ progress:
That’s it from me, but you can follow the late game at Old Trafford with Scott Murray. Thanks for your company and emails; goodnight!
In the early game, Liverpool overcame a spirited, resourceful Watford side to make it ten league wins in a row.
GOAT latest
Full time: Bournemouth 3-2 Bristol City
An excellent win for Bournemouth, who came from behind to deservedly beat Bristol City and give themselves a six-point promotion cushion.
Full time: QPR 0-2 Fulham
The voracious Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice to move Fulham to the cusp of promotion.
Full time: Brighton 0-0 Norwich
Brighton end a run of six straight defeats, though they had more than enough chances to win.
Full time: Wolves 2-1 Aston Villa
Wolves survive a late Villa revival to do the double over their local rivals.
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Full time: Chelsea 1-4 Brentford
Peep peep! One of the results of the season at Stamford Bridge, where Brentford demolished Chelsea on the break. Vitaly Janelt scored two crackers and Christian Eriksen continuing his glorious comeback with another classy goal. Brentford, who lost seven and drew one of the previous eight games when Eriksen arrived, have won three out of four since he was first included in the starting XI.
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Full time: Leeds 1-1 Southampton
Leeds continue their solid start under Jesse Marsch with a decent point against Southampton. Jack Harrison put them ahead before James Ward-Prowse added another belter to his free-kick portfolio. Leeds are eight points clear of the relegation places, though Watford, Burnley and Norwich all have games in hand.
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Full time: Burnley 0-2 Manchester City
Peep peep! City are back on top after a routine victory at Turf Moor. Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan scored in the first half hour, and Burnley were unable to lay a glove on City.
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GOAL! Bournemouth 3-2 Bristol City (Weimann 90+2)
A late scare for Bournemouth, with Andreas Weimann pulling one back for City.
Bundesliga
“Things are no clearer at the foot of the Bundesliga than they were at the start of the day,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Four teams, from second to fifth bottom, are still separated by only one point after two of those sides, Arminia Bielefeld and VfB Stuttgart drew 1-1. A third, Hertha Berlin, lost to Bayer Leverkusen. Augsburg, the fourth of those clubs, has two games in hand, so have every opportunity to make their escape.”
Brighton 0-0 Norwich It sounds like Brighton have missed a million chances in this game, including Neal Maupay’s comedy penalty, but they are at least on course to end their six-match losing run.
“Afternoon Rob,” says Tom Hopkins. “As well as players, the parachute payments system (amongst other things) has created a whole tier of clubs that are neither Championship nor Premiership (will Fulham ever play Norwich again?). There really are five divisions now. Including the mezzanine.”
GOAL! Wolves 2-1 Aston Villa (Watkins 86 pen)
Ollie Watkins’ penalty sneaks in off the post to give Villa a sniff at Molineux.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-4 Brentford (Wissa 87)
My days. The substitute Yoane Wissa, who has only just come on for Bryan Mbuemo, rattles a loose ball past Edouard Mendy. Brentford lead 4-1 at Stamford Bridge.
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“Fulham will indeed be playing Premier League next season,” says Matt Dony. “And Mitrovic will score nine goals, three of which will come in an early feel-good win against a top-eight side which will remain the highlight of their campaign. Before he goes on to score about a million more times in the Championship the season after. It was ever thus.”
I’m fascinated by these mezzanine players. Didn’t Neal Redfearn play for a newly promoted side three years in a row in the late 1990s?
GOAL! Bournemouth 3-1 Bristol City (Dembele 81)
The substitute Siriki Dembele scores a fine goal to seal victory for Bournemouth, who are six points clear of third-placed Huddersfield with three games in hand.
Championship
A notable scoreline in south-east Wales: Cardiff 0-4 Swansea. Michael Obafemi has scored twice for Swansea, who are about to do the league double over Cardiff for the first time in their history.
Burnley 0-2 Manchester City The champions are breezing through the second half at Turf Moor. Burnley haven’t had a shot on target in the entire match, and their possession is hovering around 20 per cent.
“Greetings, Rob,” says Peter Oh. “Today’s date is 2/4/22 (4/2/22 here in the U-S-A! U-S-A!! U-S-A!!!). It’s football formation day!”
GOAL! QPR 0-2 Fulham (Mitrovic 78 pen)
Him again, his 37th in the league this season. Fulham have been brilliant, and they’ll be playing Premier League football in 2022-23.
“The Highland League is hotting up, Rob, as the race for the title and a place in the pyramid play-off nears,” says Simon McMahon. “Fraserburgh are one point ahead of Buckie Thistle, but Buckie are currently 4-0 up at home to Strathspey, whereas Fraserburgh have a narrow 2-1 lead away at Rothes. Goal difference Fraserburgh +104, Buckie +103. Who needs Liverpool and Man City?”
Manchester United are playing Leicester in the late game, and there’s no sign of Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford. Scott Murray has all the team news.
“You know things are bad,” writes Fredrik Öqvist, “when Tuchel actually has to bring on Lukaku for some playing time.”
I’m sure they’ll be fine, and today’s game isn’t over yet, but there is a small chance that Chelsea could finish outside the top four.
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The latest scores in our featured games
Premier League
- Liverpool 2-0 Watford (FT)
- Brighton 0-0 Norwich
- Burnley 0-2 Manchester City
- Chelsea 1-3 Brentford
- Leeds 1-1 Southampton
- Wolves 2-0 Aston Villa
Championship
- Bournemouth 2-1 Bristol City
- QPR 0-1 Fulham
Bundesliga
- SC Freiburg 1-4 Bayern Munich (FT)
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Full time: Freiburg 1-4 Bayern Munich
An ultimately comfortable win for Bayern, though they had to work off to see off Freiburg. Marcel Sabitzer scored the fourth in added time.
Chelsea 1-3 Brentford This Christian Eriksen story, we’ll be talking about it forever.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-3 Brentford (Janelt 60)
This is surreal. Brentford have responded to going behind by scoring three in 11 minutes! Vitaly Janelt has scored his second, dinking the ball over Mendy after a marvellous through ball from Ivan Toney. A few weeks ago Brentford looked in serious trouble; the signing of Christian Eriksen has changed everything, and given us all one of the feelgood stories of this or any other season.
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GOAL! Freiburg 1-3 Bayern (Coman 82)
With all the excitement in the Premier League, I didn’t have time to tell you that Kingsley Coman has sealed victory for the Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.
GOAL! Bournemouth 2-1 Bristol City (L Cook 52)
Bournemouth have come from behind to lead. The first goal came from an expected source, Dominic Solanke. This one, less so: it’s only the fourth of Lewis Cook’s career.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-2 Brentford (Eriksen 54)
He’s done it again! Christian Eriksen continues his incredible form with another accomplished finish. The goal actually came from a Chelsea corner. Mbuemo ran 60 yards and squared the ball to Eriksen, who clipped it over Mendy with his left foot.
It would have been enough for him to play football, any football. None of us expected him to play with such serene brilliance. At this rate, he’ll win the Ballon d’Or!
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GOALS! Chelsea 1-1 Brentford (Rudiger 48, Janelt 50)
It’s all happening at Stamford Bridge. Antonio Rudiger put Chelsea ahead with an outrageous 35-yard blooter, but Vitaly Janelt spanked a fine equaliser within two minutes. That was a lovely team goal from Brentford, finished emphatically. And Rudiger’s goal was entirely ridiculous.
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GOAL! Leeds 1-1 Southampton (Ward-Prowse 49)
James Ward-Prowse equalises with yet another brilliant free-kick!
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Brighton 0-0 Norwich Here’s an exclusive clip of Neal Maupay’s first-half penalty.
Peep peep! The second halves are under way in the 3pm kick-offs.
GOAL! Freiburg 1-2 Bayern (Gnabry 73)
Bayern are back in front. Serge Gnabry has made it 2-1, and I wish it was on TV because then I could tell you what actually happened. Like Nils Petersen, Gnabry scored immediately after coming on as a substitute.
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“Burnley never turn up against City and today is no exception,” says Rick Harris. “The Clarets may, however, get the record for the lowest possession in a PL game.”
According to the official Premier League site they had 21.1 per cent in the first half. I think the record is around 17 per cent, so they need to misplace a few more passes in the second half.
GOAL! Freiburg 1-1 Bayern (Petersen 63)
Well I never. Nils Petersen, who has only just come onto the field, equalises for Freiburg!
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Peep peep! It’s half time in the 3pm kick-offs, and these are the scores in our featured games. The headline news is that Manchester City have put Burnley to sleep with the minimum of fuss and will be back on top of the Premier League by 5pm.
Premier League
- Liverpool 2-0 Watford (FT)
- Brighton 0-0 Norwich
- Burnley 0-2 Manchester City
- Chelsea 0-0 Brentford
- Leeds 1-0 Southampton
- Wolves 2-0 Aston Villa
Championship
- Bournemouth 1-1 Bristol City
- QPR 0-1 Fulham
Bundesliga
- SC Freiburg 0-1 Bayern Munich (2.30pm)
GOAL! Freiburg 0-1 Bayern (Goretzka 57)
A big goal for Bayern, who are chasing their 472nd consecutive Bundesliga title. Leon Goretzka has finally broken Freiburg down, and I’ve no idea what happened because it’s not on TV.
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“The second half Burnley comeback is going to be quite something,” writes our Liverpool correspondent Matt Dony. “Can’t wait.”
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-1 Bristol City (Solanke 40)
A deserved equaliser for Bournemouth, scored inevitably by Dominic Solanke. That’s his 24th goal in the Championship this season.
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Chelsea 0-0 Brentford After a slow start, Chelsea are controlling the game at Stamford Bridge. David Raya has just made a spectacular flying save to deny Hakim Ziyech.
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GOAL! Wolves 2-0 Aston Villa (Young 36 og)
The first goal was a mess for Villa, and this isn’t exactly a barrel of ROFLs either. Ashley Young has headed Marcal’s cross into his own net and Wolves are two up.
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Here’s the Premier League table as things stand, and it’s looking pretty good for Leeds.
GOAL! Leeds 1-0 Southampton (Harrison 29)
Leeds, surely, are staying up. Jack Harrison, who had a goal disallowed earlier in the game, has put them ahead against Southampton. It was a simple close-range finish after Forster failed to deal with an an awkward cross from Raphinha.
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MISSED PENALTY! Brighton 0-0 Norwich
Neal Maupay has Jaapstammed a penalty into orbit, and Brighton’s miserable goallessness continues.
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Burnley 0-2 Manchester City I think Gundogan’s volley took a slight deflection, which wrongfooted Nick Pope. Either way it was a lovely move from City, though I think Pope would have saved the shot without that touch off the defender.
GOAL! Burnley 0-2 Manchester City (Gundogan 25)
It’s fair to say City have handled the pressure of Liverpool going above them earlier in the day. Ilkay Gundogan has put them 2-0 ahead after another superb move. Sterling played a one-two with De Bruyne on the right and picked out Gundogan, who cushioned a volley past Nick Pope.
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Leeds 0-0 Southampton No goals at Elland Road but it sounds like a very entertaining game. If Leeds win today (and Burnley don’t beat Manchester City) they will be 10 points clear of the relegation places.
Burnley 0-1 Manchester City In the first 18 minutes, City had 84 per cent of the possession.
WSL: West Ham 0-2 Manchester City
Here’s more on Manchester City’s fifth consecutive league win.
The latest scores in our featured games
Premier League
- Liverpool 2-0 Watford (FT)
- Brighton 0-0 Norwich
- Burnley 0-1 Manchester City
- Chelsea 0-0 Brentford
- Leeds 0-0 Southampton
- Wolves 1-0 Aston Villa
Championship
- Bournemouth 0-1 Bristol City
- QPR 0-1 Fulham
Bundesliga
- SC Freiburg 0-0 Bayern Munich (2.30pm)
Half time: Freiburg 0-0 Bayern The leaders are being held by Freiburg. If it stays like that Bayern will be four points clear of Borussia Dortmund, who play RB Leipzig this evening.
Burnley 0-1 Manchester City Kevin De Bruyne’s right foot has a sweet spot the size of Gibraltar. The goal today probably isn’t in his top 30, yet it was still a thing of beauty.
GOAL! QPR 0-1 Fulham (Mitrovic 14)
The leaders Fulham are ahead at QPR, and I won’t insult your intelligence by telling you who scored the goal. It’s his 36th in the Championship this season.
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Chelsea 0-0 Brentford It’s been a brilliant start from Brentford at Stamford Bridge. Christian Eriksen is running the show, and Ivan Toney has already missed two excellent chances to give them the lead.
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The latest scores in our featured games
Premier League
- Liverpool 2-0 Watford (FT)
- Brighton 0-0 Norwich
- Burnley 0-1 Manchester City
- Chelsea 0-0 Brentford
- Leeds 0-0 Southampton
- Wolves 1-0 Aston Villa
Championship
- Bournemouth 0-1 Bristol City
- QPR 0-0 Fulham
Bundesliga
- SC Freiburg 0-0 Bayern Munich (2.30pm)
GOAL! Wolves 1-0 Aston Villa (Jonny 7)
And now Jonny has given Wolves the lead at Molineux. It was a comedy of errors from Villa’s point of view, though Jonny’s fnish was emphatic.
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GOAL! Burnley 0-1 Manchester City (De Bruyne 5)
City take the lead with a brilliant goal. Rodri clipped an angled pass to Sterling on the right side of the area. He cushioned it back towards De Bruyne, who waited for the ball to bounce and slapped it imperiously into the top corner.
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Burnley 0-0 Manchester City Josh Brownhill almost gives Burnley the lead with a superb looping header from the edge of the area. It beats Ederson and drifts just wide.
GOAL! Bournemouth 0-1 Bristol City (Atkinson 4)
A surprise at the Vitality Stadium, where Robert Atkinson has headed Bristol City in front against second-placed Bournemouth.
“Wouldn’t it be great to have Forest back in the top bunch next year?” says Bill Hargreaves. Shirts with the 1980s style emblem, and the two stars above. Roll on.”
I can’t believe it’s 23 years since they were last in the Premier League. It feels like only yesterday that Big Ron was rumbling purposefully towards the wrong dugout.
Peep peep! The 3pm games are under way, and suddenly we’re all living our best life.
Liverpool 2-0 Watford
Here’s Andy Hunter’s report from Anfield, where Liverpool moved top of the table by beating Watford.
WSL
Manchester City have continued their superb recent form with a 2-0 win at West Ham. Georgia Stanway and ‘Bunny’ Shaw got the goals to move City level on points with third-placed Manchester United.
25 min: Freiburg 0-0 Bayern No goals yet in Freiburg, though the leaders Bayern are well on top.
The boy’s a bit special
“Scotland’s game of the day is at Easter Road, where fourth-place Dundee United will be aiming to secure their top-six place by winning for the second time this season at Hibs, who are one place, and two points, below United,” writes Simon McMahon. “However, five other sides also have realistic hopes of making the top six when the league splits in two games’ time, and with only three points separating Dundee United in fourth from St. Mirren in ninth, my head hurts just thinking about the permutations.
“Today’s other fixtures are Motherwell v St. Mirren, Ross County v Hearts, St. Johnstone v Livingston and rock bottom Dundee v Aberdeen. Good luck predicting how the league table looks at ten to five tonight. In the Scottish Championship Arbroath can close the gap on leaders Kilmarnock to two points by winning at Partick Thistle.”
League One
Wigan missed the chance to go top after being held to a 1-1 draw at home to Bolton. James McClean scored early for Wigan; Jon Dadi Bodvarsson equalised late for Bolton.
Championship
Nottingham Forest have jumped into the play-off places after thumping Blackpool 4-1 at Bloomfield Road. Brennan Johnson scored two beauties, with Philip Zinckernagel and Sam Surridge getting the other goals.
Full time: Liverpool 2-0 Watford
The final score at Anfield is Result 2-0 Performance. Liverpool didn’t play particularly well but they got the job done through Diogo Jota’s first-half header and Fabinho’s late penalty. It’s their tenth consecutive league win and moves them two points clear of Manchester City, who will undertake the Turf Moor Experience from 3pm.
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GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Watford (Fabinho 89 pen)
Diogo Jota is wrestled to the turf by Juraj Kucka, VAR has a word and Stuart Attwell gives Liverpool have a penalty. With Mo Salah off the field, the substitute Fabinho slams a majestic kick high into the net.
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On this day in 1989, Tony Adams scores at both ends at Old Trafford.
78 min: Liverpool 1-0 Watford
Still only one goal in it at a slightly nervous Anfield. You can follow the rest of the game with Scott Murray.
QPR v Fulham team news
Bournemouth v Bristol City team news
Wolves v Aston Villa team news
Leeds v Southampton team news
Burnley v Manchester City team news
Chelsea v Brentford team news
Brighton v Norwich team news
Nostalgia corner
On this day in 1986, Johannes Anthonius Bernardus Metgod strikes one.
54 min: Liverpool 1-0 Watford
It’s been an intriguing game at Anfield, with a purposeful Watford side causing Liverpool plenty of discomfort. But Diogo Jota’s accomplished header has given Liverpool the lead, and if it stays like that they will go top of the league until at least 4.51 pm.
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SC Freiburg v Bayern Munich team news
World Cup 2022
This is a good read from Jonathan Wilson on England’s bye to the last 16 of the World Cup.
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Championship
The outstanding Brennan Johnson scored twice to give promotion-chasing Nottingham Forest a 3-0 half-time lead away to Blackpool. Forest back in the Premier League? Be still our nostalgic heart.
A bit of Chelsea news
If you’re into the whole Twitter thing - and who isn’t - it’s worth following Jacob Steinberg for all the latest news on the Chelsea takeover.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to another inclusively live Saturday Clockwatch. The Premier League is back after the international break, and we’ve reached the end of the season marked ‘business’. Everything’s up for grabs in the next two months, but our main focus this afternoon is the Premier League.
There are big games at both ends. Liverpool are at home to Watford in the lunchtime game - they lead 1-0 at half-time - and then Manchester City go to Burnley. Five of the bottom six are also in action.
There are five 3pm kick-offs in the Premier League - count ’em, Stan - and a whole heap of important matches in the EFL. We’ll be concentrating on these games in particular.
Premier League
- Liverpool 1-0 Watford (12.30pm)
- Brighton v Norwich
- Burnley v Manchester City
- Chelsea v Brentford
- Leeds v Southampton
- Wolves v Aston Villa
Championship
- Bournemouth v Bristol City
- QPR v Fulham
Bundesliga
- SC Freiburg v Bayern Munich (2.30pm)
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