Key events
Dave Estherby has messaged in with his thoughts on which manager is the most at risk of being sacked…
“Carrick’s job is harder but De Zerbi has somehow made Tottenham even worse so I’m not sure he’ll be around much longer. The Champions League could be a hindrance for Utd as you mentioned but they could also go and win the thing (spoiler – they won’t).
“Spurs on the other hand are making all the non-league sides pray they get them in the 3rd round of the Cup.
“I know whose shoes I’d rather be in…”
We also have two Championship fixtures to look forward to this afternoon, including a derby as Wolves host West Brom.
How the Championship table stands…
Especially if you remember THAT screamer against Manchester City…
Know it’s a quiet Sunday but two hours since the Andros Townsend steamroller ATL post and yet no Partridgesque foot like a traction engine comment.
BTL’s gone.
Have to say, this did make me laugh…
Townsend brought football boots to a game of squash.
Jose Mourinho said the mental strength of his Real Madrid team gave him confidence heading into the derby clash at Atletico Madrid on Sunday despite problems with their game.
“In this second spell I’ve understood that it’s getting more and more difficult to hear anything good about Real Madrid. It’s not a problem to be conscious of our problems. But we are also conscious of the very good things we have in the team,” Mourinho told a press conference on Saturday.
“Alongside the quality it has, this team has a strength which is very significant, the strength of the group. This gives me confidence.“
The city rivals are separated by two points after six LaLiga matches this season. Reuters
Today’s LaLiga fixtures:
Gary has emailed in about the offside that prevented Thierno Barry from getting a second goal against Ipswich. Brennan Johnson was deemed to be in an offside position and obstructing the view of goalkeeper Christian Walton when Barry’s header was flicked into the far corner of the net.
“You don’t often hear fans applauding decisions against their team, but I thought Tierno Barry’s fine header vs Ipswich was correctly ruled out. Proximity to a goalkeeper surely matters and I don’t see why Pro Ref can’t come out and say that the incident sets a guideline if not quite a precedent.”
Got a minute to spare? Why not try our daily Premier League trivia game, On the ball? Every day a star player past or present is hidden behind nine clues. How many will you need to identify them?
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The Guardian’s daily football game, On the ball, is now live in the app for both iOS and Android. Can you identify the Premier League star from the clues?
Here’s a question for you – which of the two managers do you think is most likely to turn it around?
I think Carrick has a tougher job considering Manchester United also have the Champions League to contend with, which you’d expect would impact squad selection.
At the begging of the season there was a poll about who people (supporters, pundits, sports journalists) thought would be the first manager to go. Many put De Zerbi as their Top choice and Carrick second.
It looks like they were right!!
Lots of love for Andros Townsend in the comments this morning…
Andros Townsend was lucky. Arsenal were absolutely flattened by a steamroller driven by a flock of seagulls yesterday.
AnhTuan has messaged in about Crystal Palace…
“Crystal Palace lack reliable depth or quality in central defence. Maintaining a traditional four-man backline is crucial. It’s imperative that centre-backs Axel Disasi and Honest Ahanor start today. Offensively, Crystal Palace have to be on the front foot, whether attacking from both flanks or through the central midfield. The bottom line is this, Crystal Palace are relegation-bound if they lose today.”
Today’s WSL fixtures (2pm BST kick-off)
How the WSL table stands…
At the Emirates Stadium, Smilla Holmberg rescued a point for Arsenal with a 95th-minute volley against Manchester United.
Chelsea and London City Lionesses climbed the Women’s Super League table with respective victories over Birmingham and Charlton yesterday.
After thumping Manchester United 5-0 last weekend, Chelsea won again as Lexi Potter and Melvine Malard secured a 2-0 victory. Potter found the roof of the net in the eighth minute and in the 71st minute the France star Malard made a quick impact from the bench with her first goal at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea moved up to second and with their goal difference are likely to stay there.
London City lost 2-1 to West Ham last time out but impressed in a 4-1 triumph at promoted Charlton. Isobel Goodwin’s double had London City two goals ahead after 15 minutes and, despite Jodie Hutton halving the deficit in the 39th minute with a fine finish, Jana Fernández restored their advantage before half-time. The German forward Nicole Anyomi made sure the outcome was no longer in doubt with the Lionesses’ fourth after 76 minutes. They sit third, a point behind Chelsea. Press Association
Today also marks one year since the death of Matt Beard, who managed Chelsea, Liverpool and West Ham during his incredible WSL career.
Fans attending every WSL game this weekend have been encouraged to take part in a round of applause during the 13th minute in memory of Beard.
The beloved manager won the WSL title with Liverpool in 2013 and was named Manager of the Year at the end of that season.
Today marks three years since the tragic death of Sheffield United midfielder Maddy Cusack. Tom Garry recently spoke to her sister, Olivia, who is determined to make sure that her legacy lives on.
How things stand in the Premier League…
At Hill Dickinson Stadium, Thierno Barry fired Everton to a 1-0 win against 10-man Ipswich Town.
And at St James’ Park, two early goals from Joe Willock and Lewis Hall helped Newcastle to a 2-1 win over Hull City.
Elsewhere, Coventry earned their first win of the Premier League season thanks to a 55th-minute strike from Jay Dasilva against Nottingham Forest.
It was the club’s first top-division victory in over 25 years.
Roberto De Zerbi tore into Spurs after their 3-2 defeat by Aston Villa. De Zerbi criticised his team’s mentality, but also the physical condition of his players, and said the substitute Mohammed Kudus had disrupted the balance of his team.
He said: “I am very disappointed, sad and frustrated for the performance. We can’t lose the game in this way, we can’t concede the second goal, we can’t lose balance just because we are losing. I spoke with our four attackers in minute 51, I asked them to use their head, all second half I was telling people to be calm. But the second goal was incredible.”
Speaking of Townsend, his former club, Tottenham, suffered another defeat yesterday, this time at the hands of Aston Villa.
On the bright side, Spurs finally scored a Premier League goal… twice!
Townsend avoids injury in bizarre pitch roller incident
Former England forward Andros Townsend was nearly run over by a motorised pitch roller while warming up with his Prachuap teammates at half-time during a Thai League 1 match on Saturday.
The 35-year-old avoided serious injury and later made a brief appearance in the match at Pattani. The former Tottenham Hotspur player did not see the roller, driven by a ground staff member, coming towards him when he stepped out of the practice area to attempt a pass.
The roller knocked Townsend over and drove up his legs nearly to his waist before the driver jumped off and tried to lift it off the player.
Townsend got back up and continued practicing, and came on as a late substitute while Prachuap cruised to a 3-0 victory.
“Turns out Stoke away wasn’t so bad after all,” Townsend later wrote on Instagram, joking about the English side Stoke City’s reputation as a tough place for visiting teams to play.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Purulia, India)
Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal were taught a lesson by free-scoring Brighton as their 100% start to the season was abruptly ended on Saturday.
He said: “They deserved to win the game and it’s a big lesson for us. From the first throw-in you could sense it, it was so clear. We put ourselves in trouble one time, two times, three times and we need to get out of that much quicker than that. That’s one of the biggest lessons that we have to take from the game.
“We knew how tough it was going to be and the first thing we had discussed was about the first part. If you don’t get out of that first part as winners, it will be extremely difficult to dominate the game and to have any probability of winning the game. At this level, it’s extremely important to respect and to understand [that] before anything else.”
In the biggest Premier League result of the day, Brighton cruised to a 3-0 win over champions Arsenal at the Amex Stadium thanks to goals from Pascal Gross, Charalampos Kostoulas and Chema Andrés.
Yesterday’s Premier League results
Preamble
Hello, good morning and welcome to another Matchday live! We have four Premier League fixtures to look forward to this afternoon, with Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool all involved.
There is also (another) Old Firm derby taking place as Celtic seek revenge for last weekend’s 3-0 Scottish League Cup defeat to Rangers. And in the Women’s Super League, Ctystal Palace host Tottenham, Aston Villa travel to face Brighton and West Ham take on Everton.
Not only that, we’ll also be reacting to yesterday’s action – including Arsenal’s 3-0 defeat to Brighton.
Join us!