Thank you very much for joining me.
The final report is in, and it comes in courtesy of Jonathan Wilson from the Amex.
There was plenty for John Brewin to pack in at Brentford v Man United.
Jacob Steinberg witness West Ham and Tottenham draw.
Here is his report.
The fun never stops … join Michael Butler for Chelsea v Liverpool LIVE!
The good news for United, is that the draw between West Ham and Tottenham means they stay in 15th. A Spurs victory would have seen them move above them.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 34 | 48 | 82 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 35 | 33 | 67 |
| 3 | Man City | 35 | 24 | 64 |
| 4 | Newcastle | 35 | 21 | 63 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 34 | 19 | 60 |
| 6 | Nottm Forest | 34 | 12 | 60 |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 35 | 6 | 60 |
| 8 | AFC Bournemouth | 35 | 13 | 53 |
| 9 | Brentford | 35 | 9 | 52 |
| 10 | Brighton | 35 | 1 | 52 |
| 11 | Fulham | 35 | 3 | 51 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 34 | -4 | 45 |
| 13 | Wolverhampton | 35 | -11 | 41 |
| 14 | Everton | 35 | -7 | 39 |
| 15 | Man Utd | 35 | -9 | 39 |
| 16 | Tottenham Hotspur | 35 | 6 | 38 |
| 17 | West Ham | 35 | -19 | 37 |
| 18 | Ipswich | 35 | -41 | 22 |
| 19 | Leicester | 35 | -47 | 21 |
| 20 | Southampton | 35 | -57 | 11 |
Updated
“Did autofill substitute ‘supposed’ for ‘surprise’, or is this some British irony I don’t get as a dumb Midwesterner?” writes Joe Pearson.
It was a weird game that never seemed like being particularly thrilling. Large parts were pedestrian. But who can complain about seven goals?
Full time: Brighton 1-1 Newcastle
Note a bad point overall for Newcastle but with Champions League football on the line, the two dropped could prove key.
Updated
Full time! Brentford 4-3 Manchester United
The Bees with a supposed seven-goal thriller.
Brentford 4-3 Manchester United: Bayindir produces a fine save to stop Wissa from sealing the win.
Full time! West Ham 1-1 Tottenham
The points are shared.
Brighton 1-1 Newcastle: WHAT A SAVE! Wilson ping a shot from eight yards and Verbruggen tips it over.
GOAL! Brentford 4-3 Manchester United (Diallo 90+4)
GAME ON?
Updated
Brighton 1-1 Newcastle: Gomez comes on and misses a chance to win it. His header from six yards goes well wide.
Brighton 1-1 Newcastle: Veltman cleans out Gordon on the left wing to give Newcastle a free-kick in a dangerous position. It comes to nothing.
Brentford 4-2 Manchester United: SEVEN ADDED ON! (THIS MATTERS LESS)
Brighton 1-1 Newcastle: NINE MINUTES ADDED ON!
Updated
GOAL! Brighton 1-1 Newcastle (Isak, pen, 89)
Isak steps up … and sends the keeper the wrong way. Then fights Verbruggen to get the ball back.
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: A long look … AND A PENALTY IS GIVEN! Third time lucky for Newcastle.
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: VAR is having a look …
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: PENALTY? The visitors have a free-kick in a very dangerous position on the edge of the box … Schar lines it up, it breaks through the wall off Ayari’s arm. It is a clear handball.
Updated
West Ham 1-1 Tottenham: Ward-Prowse sends in a free-kick which Bowen heads towards goal, it looks to be going in but Vicario produces a fine save.
GOAL! Brentford 4-2 Manchester United (Garnacho 81)
The Argentinian produces a stunner into the top corner. He comes in off the left, plays a one-two with Eriksen and whips it into the top corner. Ooooof … a nice consolation.
Updated
Brentford 4-1 Manchester United: Nunes, Thiago and Ajer are on for the Bees.
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: O’Reilly is penalised for a foul on Tonali in the Newcastle box.
West Ham 1-1 Tottenham: Paqueta is booked for trip the young lad Moore.
Andy Flintoff emails: “I noticed by looking at the (current in-play) table that the number of goals scored per team is approximately equal to the number of points (e.g. Liverpool have scored 80 and have 82 points, Arsenal 64 GF 67 pts and so on.) with one noticeable outlier - Spurs have scored 63, but only have 38 points. (Yes, I am bored this Sunday, before you ask!)“
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: “I loathe VAR, but at least it’s doing its job today,” says Paul (a bitter Boro fan). “Two dodgy penalties to Newcastle? Sounds about right. I’ve long thought St. James Park is the Bermuda Triangle of football. A place where normal laws of football apply only to the away team.”
GOAL! Brentford 4-1 Manchester United (Wissa 74)
Jensen slips a pass through to Kayode who crosses for Wissa to tap home from close range. There is a check for offside … and it is eventually given.
Updated
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: Pope is pretending to be injured so Howe can offer some serious tactical advise to the team.
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: Wilson is being prepared for Newcastle.
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: NO PENALTY! Willock is booked for a dive. Fair play to Pawson for admitting a second error. A decent effort by Willock but not good enough.
Updated
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: Pawson goes to the monitor to realise he is wrong again.
Updated
GOAL! Brentford 3-1 Manchester United (Schade 70)
Mbeumo crosses and Schade does the rest. This game is done and dusted.
Updated
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: PENALTY? Willock goes down under a challenge from Van Hecke in the box. Pawson takes long look and then awards a penalty but it looks a dive to me …
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: Ayari and Veltman on for Brighton, Hinshelwood and Adringa off.
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: Barnes beats the defender, gets to the byline and pulls the ball back to Isak who does what he can, sending a backheel towards goal but Verbruggen deals with it.
West Ham 1-1 Tottenham: All quite end of season on the other side of London, where Spurs win their first corner of the matchin the 61st minute.
Brentford 2-1 Manchester United: Jensen is preparing to come on for the Bees.
Brentford 2-1 Manchester United: It is all quite slow in west London. Are both teams very tired?
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: Barnes is on the right now and cuts in to fire a shot with his left but it’s straight at the keeper.
Brentford 2-1 Manchester United: “United have their most important game of the season so far next season and Amorim has made that clear by his team selection today,” says Rick Harris. “It makes perfect sense to me to give Luke Shaw 45 minutes and likewise Patrick Dorgu, while giving Amad Diallo minutes on his return after injury. Mason Mount will be feeling a whole lot better at scoring United’s opener so the only black spot for United is De Ligt getting injured again. The result today only matters to Brentford who have outside an chance of making the Europa Conference League.”
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: OVERTURNED! Free-kick to Newcastle.
Updated
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: VAR is having a look … sure this will become a free-kick.
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: PENALTY? Lamptey kicks Gordon just outside the box but a penalty is given. Will it be overturned?
Brentford 2-1 Manchester United: Former Bees man Eriksen is brought on for Mount.
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: That is the final action for Murphy, who is replaced by Gordon.
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: Murphy takes aim from 20 yards but his shot is very wayward.
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: Wieffer is replaced by Lamptey. No point in taking the risk with him as Brighton do not want to go down to 10.
Brentford 2-1 Manchester United: Garnacho is booked for moaning about being penalised for a soft foul.
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: Wieffer slides in on Tonali. He is on a booking but Pawson does not think it is worthy of a second.
Updated
Brentford 2-1 Manchester United: A couple of quick chances for Mount, the second is easily saved by Flekken.
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: Minteh curls in a dangerous cross for Welbeck to attack but a last-ditch challenge by Trippier prevents him from scoring.
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: Some early pressure from Newcastle with crosses coming into the box but they come to nothing.
Brentford 2-1 Manchester United: That means United have already made three changes with a half still to play.
Brentford 2-1 Manchester United: Shaw and Dorgu off, Yoro and Diallo on for United.
Second half
Here we go again!
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: If things stay the same, Newcastle will remain in fourth, two points ahead of Chelsea and Forest with their games to come.
Rangers and Celtic drew earlier. Read Ewan Murray’s report from Ibrox.
Half-time: Brentford 2-1 Manchester United
A Shaw own goal and Schade header have turned things around in Brentford’s favour after Mount’s opener.
Half-time: West Ham 1-1 Tottenham
All level in East London.
Half-time: Brighton 1-0 Newcastle
Minteh’s goal is the difference between the two teams.
Brentford 2-1 Manchester United: Bayindir blindly throws himself across goal to stop a Norgaard header. United are struggling with set-pieces here.
Updated
West Ham 1-1 Tottenham: Spurs should be back ahead but Richarlison’s fizzing cross along the six-yard line finds no one.
Brentford 2-1 Manchester United: Ugarte pulls down Kayode and goes into the book.
Brentford 2-1 Manchester United: Bayindir is forced into action by Schade, making a fine save to prevent United from going further behind.
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: More slick interplay by Newcastle in the final third allows Murphy to get into a good position to cross but Dunk is in the right place to clear at the front post.
Brentford 2-1 Manchester United: The hosts are in the ascendancy now. United are shocked by the turnaround and loss of De Ligt, who hobbles down the tunnel.
Updated
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: On the pitch Verbruggen is forced into action by Guimaraes but the goalkeeper holds well.
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: Chris Paraskevas emails: “Not only has Minteh had an Existential-Crisis-Celebration™ to rub our nose in it, I’ve got a mate over and he just won’t leave. He’s really interrupting my gameday experience, moving on from whinging about how much footballers dive (...fair) to showing me photos of the car he’s thinking about buying at 11:30 on Sunday night*.
“Once upon a time, the inane conversation among friends matters. But we’re 1-0 down, it’s 2025 and I just don’t care anymore.”
*Renault
Brentford 2-1 Manchester United: De Ligt is not be able to carry on here, which would be a blow. Maguire is on.
GOAL! Brentford 2-1 Manchester United (Schade 33)
De Ligt is down injured but Brentford carry on. The ball goes into the box and Schade heads home at the far post.
Updated
Brentford 1-1 Manchester United: The equaliser might well go down as a Luke Shaw own goal after it is shown the came off the defender’s chest.
Brighton 1-0 Newcastle: Wieffer goes into the book after bundling over a Newcastle man.
GOAL! West Ham 1-1 Tottenham (Bowen 28)
We are level in east London.
Updated
GOAL! Brighton 1-0 Newcastle (Minteh 28)
The former Newcastle man is very happy with that one. He gets the ball inside the box on the right, cuts in, beats two men and whacks into the corner.
Updated
GOAL! Brentford 1-1 Manchester United (Damsgaard 26)
A long throw is cleared but sent back into the box and Damsgaard gets a toe on it to divert home.
Updated
Brighton 0-0 Newcastle: Willock intercepts a loose pass on the halfway line and drives around 50 yards forward into the box before shooting with the outside of his boot but the shot goes just over.
West Ham 0-1 Tottenham: The goal has livened things up in east London. Ben Davies and Mohammed Kudus are in the book.
Brighton 0-0 Newcastle: Livramento is on the deck in pain after a challenge from Minteh. The full-back does not look happy at all!
Brentford 0-1 Manchester United: It is all quite flat in the ground. I think the Brentford players might need a boost from the fans rather than the other way round.
Brighton 0-0 Newcastle: The only 2pm kick-off without a goal but it’s been a decent game in the opening 20 minutes. Isak is the latest to have a shot but it goes well wide from around 20 yards.
West Ham 0-1 Tottenham: More on the goal. Kilman loses possession, allowing Tel to capitalise, knocking a pass across the box to Odobert to score. Prior to the goal, West Ham had been top.
GOAL! West Ham 0-1 Tottenham (Odobert 15)
Spurs have the lead!
Updated
GOAL! Brentford 0-1 Manchester United (Mount, 14)
A poor Flekken clearance is headed back by Collins, United pick up the loose pass. Garnacho gets close to the byline and cross for Mount who gets in front of his marker and sidefoots home from six yards.
Updated
Brighton 0-0 Newcastle: Another smart move by Newcastle sees Murphy get to the byline and flash a cross in but Verbruggen punches clear.
Brentford 0-0 Manchester United: Thomas Tuchel is in attendance.
Brighton 0-0 Newcastle: Barnes earns some room inside the box and aims a shot across goal which Verbruggen feels the need to tip wide.
Brentford 0-0 Manchester United: A long-throw is sent into the box and Shaw turns it behind for a corner. Damsgaard sends it in but Bayindir punches clear.
West Ham 0-0 Tottenham: Nothing has happened thus far.
Brentford 0-0 Manchester United: Things have settled down a little after the Bees’ fast start. United are getting into the game. It is understandable that they need time to settle after making eight changes.
Brighton 0-0 Newcastle: Trippier gallops down the left and slips a pass into Willock who flashes a cross towards goal but Verbruggen is alert.
Brighton 0-0 Newcastle: The Seagulls are without March and Mitoma today, so will not want to lose another winger to injury. Minteh is back up after some joint manipulation by the physio.
Brighton 0-0 Newcastle: The hosts are dominating possession in the early stages and putting Newcastle under plenty of early pressure. There is bad news, however, as Minteh has gone down holding his knee.
Brentford 0-0 Manchester United: ALMOST AN OWN GOAL! Shaw heads the ball back towards the net with Bayindir nowhere to be seen but luckily it goes just wide.
Considering the nature of the United team, it will be interesting to see if they can cope physically with the hosts. It is a lively start for Brentford.
Updated
Brighton 0-0 Newcastle: Tonali shows off how confident he is at the moment by dribbling down the left wing and sending a pass out to Barnes. The winger takes a touch and lifts in a cross but the goalkeeper comes to claim.
Kick off
The whistles are a-peeping.
The teams are wandering out of tunnels across the south of England. The Amex are showing off with some pyrotechnics.
Updated
“Why does a Liverpool fan just full after their league win last week and travelling to exotic place this week need a Man Utd loss today to keep them happy?” asks Brian Broderick.
Because we football fans are all very petty.
Opta tweet: “22 - With an average age of 22 years & 270 days, Manchester United’s starting XI vs. Brentford is the third-youngest any side has ever named for a Premier League match, behind Middlesbrough v Fulham in May 2006 (20y 181d) & Arsenal v Portsmouth in May 2009 (22y 237d). Fledgling.”
I do feel old.
Richard Morris gets in touch: “A quick glance at Arsenal’s 3 remaining fixtures reveals one banker - Southampton. But it’s away and 3 days before the Champions League final. Their other 2 fixtures - Newcastle & Liverpool are trickier. Lose all 3 and it doesn’t take any sort of unusual results amongst the chasing pack to put Arsenal 6th and out of the CL places altogether. I’m getting the popcorn.”
Twist and turns aplenty ahead …
I watched Forest v Brentford on Thursday and I felt the Bees put in one of the best away performances I have seen all season. Very few teams make things look easy at the City Ground but they were ruthless in attack and barely gave Forest a sniff all game. Thomas Frank described it as 7/10 performance. United should be worried if they reach an 8/10 performance.
“Hello from the skies above Turkey, on my way to Abu Dhabi from Manchester,” emails Bob Boon from 38,000ft. “Hoping to watch Liverpool beat Chelsea while waiting for my next flight to Jeddah. A Man United loss in the meantime would keep me happy above the clouds.”
I am constantly amazed by how far technology has come.
Get in the mood for Brighton v Newcastle with Louise Taylor.
If you need a fix of live action immediately, we have you covered.
It’s quiet so far at a rather chilly G-Tech, mostly because Transport For London’s Bank Holiday weekend has closed off east from west, north from south. Still, a small, fervent crowd greeted the Manchester United players like Taylor Swift dismounting from her limo. That’s the power of celebrity, though there’s a fair few unfamiliar faces in the United team. Eight changes from Bilbao, including Altay Bayindir replacing Andre Onana, not even in the squad. Chido Obi starts up front, Tyler Fredricson in defence. Luke Shaw is captain, and starting his second successive Premier League game for the first time since … answers on a postcard. Brentford are tried and trusted with their selection, to follow their defeat of Nottingham Forest. Is it really three years since that statement win - 4-0 - over United at the beginning of the 2022-23 season? That proved no fluke at all.
Takes a bit of working out that Manchester United lineup. I am backing the back three to be De Ligt on the right, Shaw in the middle and Friedricson on the left. Friedricson has been unlucky to wait so long for a chance. He is seen as a better option to Jonny Evans at the club already but injuries have delayed his breakthrough.
Starting lineups: West Ham v Tottenham
West Ham (5-3-2): Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Cresswell, Emerson; Soucek, Paqueta, Kudus; Fullkrug, Bowen
Subs: Fabianski, Soler, Coufal, Ward-Prowse, Mavropanos, Guilherme, Ings, Rodriguez, Ferguson
Tottenham (4-2-4): Vicario; Gray, Danso, Davies, Spence; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Richalison, Tel, Odobert
Subs: Kinsky, Pedro Porro, Udogie, Romero, Van de Ven, Bentancur, Ajayi, Moore, Johnson
Startling lineups: Brentford v Man United
Brentford (4-3-3): Flekken; Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard; Schade, Wissa, Mbeumo
Subs: Valdimarsson, Henry, Pinnock, Jensen, Thiago, Mee, Ajer, Konak, Nunes
Manchester United (3-4-3): Bayindir; De Ligt, Shaw, Fredricson; Dorgu, Mainoo, Ugarte, Amass; Mount, Obi, Garnacho
Subs: Heaton, Lindelof, Maguire, Yoro, Fernandes, Casemiro, Eriksen, Amad, Hojlund
Starting lineups: Brighton v Newcastle
Brighton (4-3-3): Verbruggen; Hinshelwood, Dunk, Van Hecke, Estupinan; Baleba, Wieffer, O’Riley; Adringa, Welbeck, Minteh
Subs: Steele, Lamptey, Igor Julio, Webster, Gruda, Gomez, Ayari, Veltman, Howell
Newcastle (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento; Tonali, Guimaraes, Willock; Murphy, Isak, Barnes
Subs: Dubravka, Botman, Wilson, Gordon, Krafth, Osula, Longstafff, Miley, Neave
Preamble
We have three 2pm BST kick-offs in the Premier League. The most significant one comes at the Amex where Newcastle are aiming to boost their Champions League hopes. Victory over Brighton would move them above Manchester City into third, putting further pressure on rivals Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, who play later on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
Manchester United get to follow their barnstorming night in the Basque Country with a trip to the capital. Will Ruben Amorim rest players to ensure everyone is fit for the second leg against Athletic Bilbao? They have a three-goal lead in the Europa League but a picking couple of injuries at Brentford would give Ernesto Valverde a timely boost. The Bees have an outside shot at Europe, too, and after turning over Forest on Thursday will be in confident mood of defeating the 15th-best team in the Premier League.
It is 16th against 15th at the London Stadium, where West Ham and Tottenham are desperately waiting for the league campaign to finish. Spurs also have European glory in their sights and with a tricky trip to Norway to come, they might also wonder if it is time to take precautions. If the Hammers do win, they would leapfrog Spurs and go level on points with Manchester United, which would be a much-needed boost.
Let the fun begin!
