Jonathan Liew’s take on Amazon’s opening night
Reaction from Turf Moor
Jamie Jackson has filed his match report, so I shall leave you with that. Thanks for your company - goodnight.
Full time: Burnley 1-4 Manchester City
Peep peep! Manchester City move to within eight points of Liverpool, at least for the next 24 hours, after a swaggering performance at Turf Moor. Gabriel Jesus scored two fine goals, the superb Rodri scorched a third and the substitute Riyad Mahrez added a fourth. It was close to peak City, although they will be annoyed that they again failed to keep a clean sheet.
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90 min Three minutes of added Prime.
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GOAL! Burnley 1-4 Manchester City (Brady 89)
No clean sheet for City. The ball ricochets around the area and falls kindly for Robbie Brady, who slams it past the outrushing Ederson.
GOAL! Burnley 0-4 Manchester City (Mahrez 87)
Riyad Mahrez hadn’t settled for 3-0. He beats Mee with a stepover on the edge of the area and drives a low right-footed shot into the bottom corner. That’s another excellent goal. In fact, City have produced quite a portfolio tonight.
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86 min Hendrick is booked for a naughty lunge at David Silva.
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85 min Fernandinho is replaced by Eric Garcia.
85 min Both teams have settled for this scoreline. Saying which, Angelino whistles a cross shot just wide of the far post.
83 min “Decent win for City,” says Matt Dony. “Looks like they’re really taking control of the battle for third place #bantz”
You should banter responsibly.
80 min Phil Foden comes on for the last 10 minutes. He replaces the majestic Kevin De Bruyne.
77 min Mahrez’s imaginative pass/cross towards David Silva is headed behind by the stretching Tarkowski.
76 min “I wish the person Jesus pretends to phone every time he bags a goal would hurry up and call him,” says Ian Copestake. “Like me, it’s getting seriously old.”
75 min Another Burnley change: Robbie Brady replaces the ever impressive Dwight McNeil.
OH. MY. WORD.
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) December 3, 2019
What a screamer from @ManCity's Rodri 😱😱#PLonPrime pic.twitter.com/B8aPqxZXPQ
72 min Riyad Mahrez replaces Raheem Sterling, who was a booking away from missing Saturday’s Manchester derby.
70 min Rodri has had a fine game, perhaps his best for City.
Rodri makes it 3-0 with a thumping finish. David Silva had a shot blocked by a Burnley defender, with the ball rebounding to Rodri just outside the D. He waited for it to sit up before cutting across a vicious first-time shot that beat Pope and flew into the top of the net.
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GOAL! Burnley 0-3 Manchester City (Rodri 68)
Pick that out.
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65 min Burnley have had a bit more of the game since reverting to 4-4-2. City still look very comfortable, mind.
64 min “The only suspense left in this fixture,” says Mary Waltz, “is whether City can keep a clean sheet.”
It’s been a while – 26 October was their last.
62 min A good header from Rodriguez finds McNeil, who galumphs down the left and hits a fine, deep cross that is headed behind by Angelino.
61 min Rodri goes shoulder to shoulder with Barnes, who dives to win a free-kick. McNeil swings a decent effort on target from 25 yards that is comfortbaly saved by Emerson.
60 min “Palace are 5th with 21 points,” says an anonymous emailer. “Add 12 points and they would only go up to third. Take away 12 and they’d be bottom.”
59 min A double change for Burnley: Jay Rodriguez and Ashley Barnes replace Danny Drinkwater and Chris Wood.
58 min De Bruyne drives high over the bar from 25 yards.
57 min Walker’s shot deflects wide, and then Bernardo Silva’s cutback is cleared desperately. This could get very nasty for Burnley, such are the waves of City attacks.
55 min City have been excellent tonight, especially Gabriel Jesus and the midfield three of Rodri, David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne. Burnley have struggled to lay a glove on them.
In other news, Crystal Palace have gone fifth in the table after being Bournemouth 1-0 at Selhurst Park. Roy for England!
53 min Gabriel Jesus comes this close to his hat-trick. He turned Tarkowski deliciously on the left side of the area, moved the ball onto his right foot and placed a curling shot just wide from a tight angle.
GOAL! Burnley 0-2 Manchester City (Jesus 50)
Another fine goal from Gabriel Jesus gives City a deserved two-goal lead. They moved the ball around for ages before Bernardo Silva, on the right, whipped an inswinging cross towards the far post. Jesus got in front of Bardsley, six yards from goal, and adjusted his body smartly to slam a volley into the net via the post.
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49 min City have picked up where they left off, with the game being played almost exclusively in Burnley’s half.
47 min “Hi again Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “I’ve just bought a 7-in-1 multi grooming kit and some chewing gum. It’s getting delivered yesterday, for free. All this, and football too. Jeff Bezos for President!”
If he wants my vote he needs to start selling time travel.
46 min Peep peep! City begin the second half, kicking from left to right on the old Amazon Prime app.
Half-time chit-chat
“‘The Sprawling Pope’” says Hubert O’Hearn. “How has this pub name not been taken?!?”
“With a great save by Pope and a great goal by Jesus,” says Peter Oh, “the spirit is certainly moving in this match!”
Half-time reading
Half time: Burnley 0-1 Manchester City
Peep peep! City lead deservedly through Gabriel Jesus’s delicious curler. Burnley’s 4-2-3-1 system has not really worked, and I’m sure we’ll see Ashley Barnes in the second half.
45 min David Silva has been the best player on the field. I thought, earlier in the year, that he was over the hill but he has played beautifully of late. In other news, McNeil’s volley in the 43rd-minute actually hit his team-mate Wood.
44 min Burnley need half-time. At 1-0, they are still in the game. At 2-0, they are likely to suffer.
43 min A chance at both ends! McNeil’s fierce volley was blocked by one of many City bodies in the six-yard box; City raced down the other end, where Bernardo Silva’s low shot was kicked away by Pope.
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40 min “Hiya Rob,” says Matthew Rodriguez. “With all the tech talk, any chance we will ever see the interface you guys use to upload your commentary?”
Of course. I’ve taken a quick selfie to give you an idea.
38 min Burnley have their first attack in a while. McNeil’s excellent cross is headed behind by the stretching Walker. Hendrick swings it under the bar, where Drinkwater is penalised for manhandling Ederson.
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36 min De Bruyne’s deflected long-range shot is comfortably saved by the sprawling Pope.
35 min Burnley haven’t had a kick since going behind.
32 min: Great save from Pope! City moved the ball around for an age before Bernardo Silva released De Bruyne on the right of the area. He crossed low into the six-yard box, where Sterling and Jesus arrived almost simultaneously. Sterling got to the ball first and stabbed a shot that was crucially blocked by the outstretched leg of Pope.
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32 min “Evening Rob,” says Patrick Cullen. “I was going to try and make myself seem clever by pointing out where the Sparkle Motion quote comes from, but I think we’ve all seen Bonanza...”
31 min City have looked more relaxed in possession since the goal. This is a dangerous spell for Burnley, who have struggled to get out of their half in the last few minutes.
29 min “Evening Rob,” says Geoff Wignall. “Is it just me or have referees this season been more alert to Citeh’s penchant for the tactical foul and readier to award cards for it? I’ve no theories about any coincidental decline in performance.”
Let me just ask Cyril what I think.
26 min City are unhappy with Tarkowski’s ball-and-man challenge on David Silva near the halfway line. He followed through into the side of Silva’s leg with a fair bit of force, though the officials saw nothing wrong. It has changed the mood at Turf Moor, though, with an affronted home crowd now making plenty of noise.
25 min De Bruyne was down for a little while after a challenge from Cork during that City break. He seems to be fine now.
Pieters crossed too close to Ederson and City were straight on the counter-attack. Eventually David Silva played a simple ball to Gabriel Jesus on the left wing. He moved into the area, used Bardsley as a screen and bent a glorious rising shot into the far corner. That was a classic finish, and Pope had no chance.
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GOAL! Burnley 0-1 Manchester City (Jesus 24)
What a beautiful goal!
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22 min City have had lots of the ball, with De Bruyne influential as ever, but they are yet to create a chance. I suspect Sean Dyche will be the happier manager just now.
18 min Otamendi is warned by the referee Jon Moss after a foul on Wood. He looks a wee bit rattled by Wood’s fibrous approach.
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17 min Bardsley plays a speculative ball over the top for Wood, who is just beaten to it by Ederson. Good goalkeeping.
17 min It’s been a pretty open start to the game. Burnley look like they can cause City problems, which hasn’t always been the case in this fixture.
15 min Bernardo Silva is booked for a tactical foul on McNeil.
12 min De Bruyne surges forward from the halfway line, moves the ball away from Mee and hits a low left-footed shot from 25 yards. It’s too close to Pope, who makes a comfortable save.
11 min “So,” says Cromwell49, “Bournemouth game not worthy of minute-by-minute coverage, eh?”
You haven’t read the preamble, have you? Sometimes I seriously doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.
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10 min Bernardo Silva cuts infield and hits a 20-yard shot that is blocked.
9 min A long ball forward gives Wood the chance to manhandle Otamendi, who ends up on all fours in the City penalty area. Nothing comes of it but I doubt Otamendi will be relishing the next hoof forward.
8 min “Where’s Hendrick playing, Rob?” asks Paul Neilan. He’s in the Pereira role, as a kind of defensive No10.
7 min: JESUS HAS A GOAL DISALLOWED! He was offside. It would have been a lovely goal, mind. De Bruyne drove the corner to the edge of the box, where Angelino belted a volley towards goal. It was slightly off target and came to Jesus, who instinctively flicked the ball behind his standing leg and into the net. He was, alas, a long way offside.
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6 min Walker’s cross deflects off Pieters and onto the roof o fthe net. Pope had it covered but it’s a corner for City, the first of the match...
4 min Jesus scoots into the area on the left, turns back inside Mee and is tackled by Tarkowski. No matter: he was offside.
2 min City deal slightly uncomfortably with a couple of long punts forward.
1 min Peep peep! Burnley, in claret and blue, kick off from left to right. City are in their black change strip.
The players emerge from the tunnel. It’s a nice December night in Burnley. A little brisk. Burnley’s walk-on music is Wake Up by Arcade Fire, a gesture which makes the world a marginally better place.
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Proud moment for Mamadou Sakho as he becomes the first Premier League player sent off live on Amazon Prime.
— Richard Jolly (@RichJolly) December 3, 2019
It’s almost time for the actual football to start. Shame, really, I was enjoying the build-up.
“Hi Rob,” says Gary Naylor. “For Amazon’s first match, top left of the screen says ‘Cry Bou’ - which accurately sums up Mamadou Sakho’s night.”
In case you’re not a subscriber, Sakho has been sent off for an old-fashioned, thigh-high lunge at Adam Smith. You can follow that match, sort of, here.
“Evening Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “I think today, Tuesday 3 December 2019, will be remembered as the day civilisation reached its peak. Streaming live football through an online global website, whilst at the same time buying a voice controlled smart device that enables me to buy more content from said retailer, and having it delivered by a drone at half time while putting up Christmas decorations and emailing the OBO through thought alone. Herbert Chapman and Stan Cullis would have been proud, don’t you think?”
Let me just ask my smart assistant, Cyril, what I should think.
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Team news
Ashley Barnes is only fit enough for the bench because of a groin problem, so Burnley have switched from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1.
Burnley (4-2-3-1) Pope; Bardsley, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters; Cork, Drinkwater; Lennon, Hendrick, McNeil; Wood.
Substitutes: Hart, Lowton, Gibson, Brady, Barnes, Rodriguez, Vydra.
Manchester City (4-3-3) Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Fernandinho, Angelino; De Bruyne, Rodri, D Silva; B Silva, Jesus, Sterling.
Substitutes: Bravo, Stones, Mendy, Joao Cancelo, Garcia, Mahrez, Foden.
Referee Jon Moss.
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The lights in the Manchester City dressing-room are not working, apparently. That all sounds very Beckiavellian.
No lights in the away dressing room? 💡
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) December 3, 2019
We've got you covered, @ManCity 😉
Join us for all the build-up: https://t.co/BSPd2aSoTV #PLonPrime pic.twitter.com/noE8SezQpJ
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Preamble
Good evening and welcome to a brand new episode of Black Mirror. This one has a cracking synopsis: an American tech giant gets its paws on England’s most popular sport, and all manner of dystopian larks ensue. Well, possibly. We can only surmise the long-term impact of Amazon’s Premier League landgrab but it does feel like 3 December 2019 will eventually sit alongside 16 August 1992 as a landmark in TV coverage of football.
For now, the only thing we can say with certainty is that Amazon Prime will be showing 10 live Premier League matches across the next three evenings. Their all-streaming, all-dancing coverage begins with two games tonight: Crystal Palace v Bournemouth and Burnley v Manchester City. The Guardian pockets, alas, are not quite as chasmic as Jeff Bezos’s, so you’re stuck with just one MBM for the match at Turf Moor.
Manchester City start the match 11 points behind Liverpool, and with a simple edict: to stop playing silly buggers. Pep Guardiola has had the face on for much of the season, and that seems to have transmitted to his players.
City have already dropped 13 points in 14 games, which is almost as many as in each of the last two seasons (14 in 2017-18, 16 in 2018-19). If they are not careful, their title defence will be over before they return to Amazon Prime on 27 December.
Kick off is at 8.15pm, buffering permitting.
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