And finally, Dominic Fifield was at Stamford Bridge to see Huddersfield rather magnificently retain their Premier League status ... and deliver a serious blow to Chelsea’s hopes of a top-four finish.
Thanks for staying with us on a dramatic evening in the Premier League, if not in Scotland. That’s your lot! Nighty night, and sweet dreams wherever you are!
Leicester City saw off Arsenal at home ... but then again who doesn’t these days? Stuart James saw the Gunners lose their seventh straight match on the road, a record that stretches back to the miserable mid-60s days of Billy Wright.
Harry Kane secured Champions League football for Spurs next season ... and kept on Mo Salah’s tail in the race to be the top Premier League scorer of this campaign. David Hytner witnessed that one.
And here come the reports! Jamie Jackson was at the Etihand to see Manchester City rewrite the record books ...
And now it’s the turn of the astonishing David Wagner. “To be honest I don’t think my English is good enough to find the words to describe what the players have done over the whole season. Tonight we have seen everything that counts for us: effort, attitude and togetherness. If you have the passion, desire and spirit you can compete. We had luck today, there is no doubt. But if a group of players deserved it, it’s this group. We have had some big dips, but we’ve always been able to come back. We have done it ourselves. It is so important for me that we were not relying on others. I have not enough English vocabulary to describe how I feel.” Oh I think you do. As eloquent a tribute as his players could wish for.
Huddersfield keeper Jonas Lossl has been named man of the match at Stamford Bridge. And no wonder: his fingertip save from Andreas Christensen during the closing stages was one of the stops of the season. It’s kept his team in the division. “The feeling is overwhelming right now. It’s what we’ve fought for. To finish here like this, against these teams, City and Chelsea, is unbelievable. Mentally, it was tough. Chelsea need it, but we fought, we fought like we never did before.”
A bit more on Hibs. Their defeat in the Edinburgh derby means they’ll almost certainly finish fourth ... unless they can beat third-placed Rangers by six goals at Easter Road on Sunday. Well, there’s always hope. A perhaps more realistic route into the Europa League is offered by Celtic, who will open the door for Hibs if they beat Motherwell in the Scottish Cup final. Aberdeen’s place in the competition next season has been confirmed.
FULL TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Newcastle United
Harry Kane’s goal has ensured Spurs will play in next season’s Champions League! They’re not guaranteed third spot yet ... they’ll need to beat Leicester on Sunday to make sure of that ... but they’re very much unlikely to care right now. Another European adventure awaits a club on the up!
FULL TIME: Manchester City 3-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
So that was already the most goals in a Premier League season (105) ... and now City have registered the most wins (31) and points (97) too. A lot of records nabbed off Chelsea, there.
FULL TIME: Leicester City 3-1 Arsenal
Leicester are guaranteed to finish ninth, unless Newcastle do something very strange at Wembley in the next few minutes. Arsenal are going to end Arsene Wenger’s final season in sixth. They ended Bruce Rioch’s only season in fifth, so it’s come full circle, almost, kind of.
FULL TIME: Heart of Midlothian 2-1 Hibernian
Hearts take the spoils in the Edinburgh derby, and Hibs will almost certainly end the season in fourth place.
FULL TIME: Celtic 0-0 Kilmarnock
... but anyway, that point for Huddersfield at Stamford Bridge means Chelsea are really up against it now if they want to play Champions League football next season. They’ll need to win at Newcastle on Sunday, and hope Liverpool lose for the first time at Anfield in the league all season, to Brighton & Hove Albion. None of it’s beyond the realms, but Liverpool now have the draw in their back pocket. Still, the jig isn’t yet up ... even though a few Chelsea faces, such as Giroud and Azpilicueta, suggest they think it might be.
FULL TIME: Chelsea 1-1 Huddersfield Town
Town make it to the line! Survival! Another magnificent point on the road, and they’ll be staying in the Premier League! They cavort in glee, and no wonder: the pre-season favourites for relegation have survived with a game to spare! And at the home of the deposed champions, to boot!
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GOAL! Leicester City 3-1 Arsenal (Mahrez 90)
Oh Arsenal! One last chance for an away point at Huddersfield on Sunday, then.
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Hogg goes down with cramp, eating up a few seconds before springing up again. Giroud nearly makes himself some space in the Huddersfield box, but Jorgensen stands firm. There are two minutes of stoppage time between Town and Premier League survival!
GOAL! Manchester City 3-1 Brighton & Hove Albion (Fernandinho 72)
Fernandinho scores number 105 of City’s remarkable season!
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More pinball in the Huddersfield box. Giroud tries to sidefoot the ball acrobatically home from eight yards, but sends it bouncing harmlessly wide right. There will be six minutes of added time! Which is about right, given all the subs, plus goals, plus faffing about. But that’s going to seem like an age for Huddersfield. Chelsea have a new spring in their step!
Morata, just inside the box on the left, unleashes a whistling shot goalwards. Lossl parries it clear with strong hands. Then Willian has a go. It pinballs around, then dribbles through to the keeper. One minute left, plus stoppages of course.
Huddersfield can almost touch safety. But they’re beginning to shank and scuff clearances they were earlier putting their foot through. Hazard releases a little pressure on the visitors by dragging a shot wide from distance. Lossl is booked for faffing around to an absurd degree when taking the goal kick that restarts the game. There are now three minutes to go.
There are five minutes to go. Huddersfield hook Smith, who takes an age to leave the field of play. Willian comes across and tries to shove him off. Predictably, there’s a brief but frank exchange of views. There are now four minutes to go ... though you can surely expect plenty of stoppages, especially after that brouhaha.
Huddersfield might have been pressed back for most of this game. But they’ve rarely looked ragged. Until now, that is. Hazard very nearly sashays his way through the middle towards goal. But he’s crowded out at the last. Then a corner, from which there’s a ludicrous cartoon scramble just in front of the Huddersfield goal. Rudiger and Hazard whiff shots from close range. Then the ball rears up, allowing Christensen to guide a clever header towards the top left from the middle of the melee. But Lossl somehow fingertips it onto the post, and his team-mates hack clear! That was absurd!
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GOAL! Leicester City 2-1 Arsenal (Vardy 76 pen)
Arsenal’s 0% away record in 2018 could remain in tact, then.
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Huddersfield are now playing with all 11 men camped in their final third. Most of the Chelsea lads are in there too. There’s no release valve. The home side are utterly dominant in terms of possession and territory ... though they’re not doing a whole lot to force Lossl into emergency action. Quite a few balls being pumped towards Giroud. Will the tactic force a crack in the Huddersfield wall?
The ball is coming back at Huddersfield with monotonous regularity now. During the last ten minutes, nearly half of the game has been played in Town’s final third! The final quarter of an hour will seem like a year to the visiting fans. Can their heroes hold on for the point that will guarantee their Premier League survival?
That goal of Harry Kane’s is his 28th of the season, by the way. He’s just three behind Mo Salah (31) in the race to end the campaign as 2017-18’s leading scorer.
The game at Stamford Bridge has that ludicrous, delightful, zany end-of-season feel. It’s a triumph of chaos over order, as Chelsea throw the kitchen sink at Town. Chelsea are press, press, pressing Huddersfield back, as the visitors desperately try to hold onto the point that will preserve their Premier League status. They’re vulnerable on the break, though, and once again Billing nearly releases Pritchard into acres ... and once again, Kante’s the man who snuffs out some serious danger!
GOAL! Heart of Midlothian 2-1 Hibernian (Naismith 57)
Hearts regain the lead in the Embra rammy, and Hibs’ hopes of a second or third-place finish look to be seriously receding.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Newcastle United (Kane 50)
It’s that man again ... and it’s a significant goal, because as things stand, Spurs will be guaranteed Champions League football next season!
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GOAL! Leicester City 1-1 Arsenal (Aubameyang 53)
Ten-man Arsenal equalise at the King Power, and the chance of a first away point for the Gunners in the calendar year of 2018 is a live one!
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GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Huddersfield Town (Alonso 62)
Scrub all that! Chelsea equalise, and in the most farcical way possible! Jorgensen hoicks clear from his own six-yard line ... and blooters the ball straight into Alonso’s startled face. The ball rebounds into the bottom right, Lossl with no hope of reacting to the dreadful stroke of luck! That is beyond bizarre - and it could have huge implications at both the top and bottom of the table!
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Hazard is on now, too, at the expense of Pedro. As things stand, Huddersfield are safe; Swansea City are as good as down, unless they beat Stoke at the weekend, Southampton lose to Manchester City, and there’s a ten-goal swing in the goal difference; and Chelsea will find it almost impossible to catch Liverpool or Spurs in the top four.
Chelsea have to go for it now. Accordingly, they’ve brought on Giroud in place of Zappacosta. The rest of this match could well be a case of attack versus defence. Not that Huddersfield are sitting deep at all costs: Billing nearly releases the Huddersfield sub Pritchard with a long pass, but is denied by the indefatigable Kante.
GOAL! Hibernian 1-1 Heart of Midlothian (Kamberi pen 48)
Stevenson, dribbling down the inside left, is clipped to the floor by Adao. The referee points to the spot, and Kamberi levels it up!
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GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Huddersfield Town (Depoitre 50)
Well this wasn’t in the script. Willian is robbed in the middle of the park. Mooy hoicks a first-time ball down the middle, and suddenly Depoitre is racing clear of Rudiger! Caballero comes out from his area and clatters into the striker. It’s a fair 50-50 ... but the keeper comes off worst, falling over as Depoitre barges past, then toeing calmly into the empty net! Huddersfield can really sense survival now! Chelsea’s Champions League dream is hanging by a thread. They’ve got most of the half to sort it out, though.
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Chelsea have started the second half against Huddersfield in lively fashion ... and Rudiger has missed another wonderful chance. Willian curls in a delicious free kick from the right, and watches in horror as the big defender clanks a header over from six yards. Willian puts his head in his hands in theatrical irritation.
It’s now half-time in the 8pm Premier League kick-offs. City are 2-1 up on Brighton, while Spurs versus Newcastle remains goalless.
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Those two Manchester City goals have been hugely significant. They mean Pep Guardiola’s astonishing team have broken the Premier League record for most goals in a season. Their tally now stands at 104, beating the previous mark of 103 set by Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea in 2009-10. Congratulations - again - to Manchester City!
Not a whole load to report in Scotland. Celtic are being held goalless at half-time by Killie, while Hearts go in leading Hibs by that Lafferty strike. As things stand, Hibs’ hopes of pipping Rangers or Aberdeen to third spot look as good as over. A frustrating end to a decent season?
GOAL! Manchester City 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion (Bernardo Silva 34)
The champions take the lead again at the Etihad, Bernardo Silva guiding home Sane cross.
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Newcastle are giving a good account of themselves against Tottenham. They’re holding their hosts after 35 minutes of goalless action at Wembley. Meanwhile it’s half-time at the King Power, where Leicester lead ten-man Arsenal by the single goal.
It’s half-time at Stamford Bridge. The whistle goes as Willian runs over to take a corner. But he doesn’t get there in time. Chelsea are collectively incandescent with rage, Azpilicueta and Fabregas taking turns to get right up in the referee’s face as they make their displeasure known. Both are fortunate Lee Mason is in a good mood, because you’ve seen players booked for similar displays of pique. Anyway, it’s 0-0.
So having said that, Chelsea very nearly take the lead! Morata is sent free down the inside-left channel by Kante’s superb reverse pass. He rounds Lossl on the outside. He could go over the sprawling keeper in search of a penalty, but stays honest. Only problem is, he’s sent so far left the angle’s suddenly extremely prohibitive. It’s all Morata can do to chip across the face of goal ... and there’s nobody in blue nearby to run the ball home. That’s a fine move by Chelsea, though, and full marks to Morata for staying on his feet in the sporting fashion.
Huddersfield are still holding their own at Stamford Bridge. The place has gone rather quiet, the away section excepted, as the majority within contemplate a season in the Europa League. That’s what they’ll most likely face in 2018-19 if they can’t break the Terriers down this evening.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion (Ulloa 20)
Well that lead didn’t last long. Ulloa scores his first goal since rejoining the Seagulls. A confident display from Brighton will send a shiver down the collective spine of Liverpool, who need to beat them on the final day at Anfield to make sure of Champions League football next season. (Or beat Real Madrid on May 26, but you know what I mean.)
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GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion (Danilo 16)
The champions open the scoring at the Etihad, courtesy of Danilo. Here’s the full back’s previous Premier League strike, for your pleasure.
GOAL! Heart of Midlothian 1-0 Hibernian (Lafferty 26)
First blood in the Embra derby to Hearts, as Kyle Lafferty takes advantage of some dozy Hibs defending to burst into the box on the right and hammer home, low and hard. A minute before, Naismith looked to have been bundled over in the box by Ambrose. That penalty claim doesn’t sting so much for the home fans now.
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Some tomfoolery now. Hogg slides in on Willian, winning the ball but knocking the winger to the floor too. The referee doesn’t mind the challenge. Willian does, and rolls around in the irritated fashion. The Huddersfield fans give the Chelsea man the bird ... then parp in delight as Willian, up and about again, rakes a dreadful crossfield pass into the stand. Still over seven months until Christmas, so enjoy these rare springtime pantomime scraps when they’re on offer.
Chelsea continue to press Huddersfield back. They’re dominating the play, as you’d imagine. But Lossl has had very little to do in goal so far. Chelsea keep trying to jink their way through the middle, and the Huddersfield back line isn’t having a bar of it.
More on the good news regarding Sir Alex Ferguson. A report from our man Jamie Jackson.
GOAL! Leicester City 1-0 Arsenal (Iheanacho 14)
Arsenal’s quite extraordinary away record in 2018 looks good for a while yet. That’s because they’re a goal down at the King Power ... and young defender Konstantinos Mavropanos has been sent off for a last-man challenge on Iheanacho too. Wenger out, etc.
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Back at Stamford Bridge, Azpilicueta heads down from a Chelsea corner. Rudiger simply has to follow it into the bottom-left corner from a couple of yards, but somehow manages to shank it off target. That’s a lot of wild nonsense, and he holds his head accordingly.
A dreadful waste of a free kick by Hibs in the Edinburgh derby. It’s just outside the box, to the right of the D. Allan shifts the ball left ... or at least he tries to, getting the simplest of passes caught under his feet. McGinn is forced to adjust his position before shooting, and fires miles wide right. On the touchline, Neil Lennon reacts pretty much as you’d expect him to, dancing a little dance to a jazz piece played in the keys of F and C. That’s a hot kind of music. All very entertaining.
A quiet start at Chelsea. Fabregas found Alonso down the left with a glorious pass, but the rampaging full-back’s shot from a tight angle was parried well by Lossl.
Meanwhile before the action begins, some wonderful news just announced by Manchester United: Sir Alex Ferguson “no longer needs intensive care and will continue rehabilitation as an in-patient.” Magnificent. The world of football finally exhales in relief. Here’s to the great man’s continued rehabilitation.
The teams are out for the 7.45pm kick-offs! A rare old atmosphere at Tynecastle, as you’d expect ... and the one at Stamford Bridge isn’t too bad either. Chelsea are desperate for the win that would put some serious pressure on Liverpool in the race for the top four, while Huddersfield are one point away from staying in the division. Both managers seemed well up for it in the pre-match interviews, yet quite relaxed to boot. It should be a fascinating evening.
Heart of Midlothian: McLaughlin, Michael Smith, Hughes, Berra, Mitchell, Cochrane, Adao, Amankwaa, Naismith, Milinkovic, Lafferty.
Subs: Jack Hamilton, Cowie, Callachan, Moore, Henderson, McDonald, Chris Hamilton.
Hibernian: Marciano, Ambrose, McGregor, Hanlon, Boyle, Scott Allan, Whittaker, McGinn, Stevenson, Barker, Kamberi.
Subs: Swanson, Maclaren, Bell, Bartley, Slivka, McGeouch, Shaw.
Referee: Craig Thomson.
Hearts make four changes to the side defeated by Celtic. Aaron Hughes, Harry Cochrane, Danny Amankwaa and Manuel Milinkovic replace Jon Souttar, Don Cowie, Ross Callachan and Lewis Moore.
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Celtic: Bain, Hendry, Simunovic, Ajer, Miller, Brown, McGregor, Forrest, Armstrong, Roberts, Sinclair.
Subs: Rogic, Ntcham, De Vries, Henderson, Tierney, Johnston, Eboue.
Kilmarnock: MacDonald, O’Donnell, Scott Boyd, Findlay, Taylor, Dicker, Mulumbu, Tshibola, Kiltie, Brophy, Erwin.
Subs: Fasan, Burke, Greer, Simpson, Kris Boyd, Wilson, Cameron.
Referee: John Beaton.
Celtic make six changes to the team that won at Hearts on Sunday. In come Jack Hendry, Jozo Simunovic, Calvin Miller, Stuart Armstrong, Patrick Roberts and Scott Sinclair. Out go Dedryck Boyata, Mikael Lustig, Tom Rogic, Olivier Ntcham, Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard.
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Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies, Sissoko, Wanyama, Eriksen, Alli, Son, Kane.
Subs: Rose, Alderweireld, Lamela, Vorm, Llorente, Foyth, Lucas Moura.
Newcastle United: Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Lejeune, Dummett, Diame, Shelvey, Ritchie, Perez, Kenedy, Gayle. Subs: Murphy, Hayden, Manquillo, Joselu, Merino, Haidara, Darlow.
Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire).
Spurs make three changes to the team that went down at West Bromwich Albion the other day. Ben Davies, Moussa Sissoko and Heung-Min Son take the places of Toby Alderweireld, Erik Lamela and Danny Rose.
Newcastle lost at Watford last weekend, and make two changes to the team that suffered that fate. DeAndre Yedlin and Matt Ritchie come in for Javi Manquillo and Jacob Murphy.
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Manchester City: Bravo, Danilo, Kompany, Laporte, Zinchenko, Toure, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Jesus, Sane.
Subs: De Bruyne, Mendy, Adarabioyo, Ederson, Nmecha, Foden, Diaz.
Brighton & Hove Albion: Ryan, Bruno, Duffy, Dunk, Bong, Gross, Stephens, Propper, Knockaert, Ulloa, Izquierdo.
Subs: Kayal, Murray, Goldson, March, Schelotto, Locadia, Krul.
Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire).
City only name three of their starters against Huddersfield in today’s XI. Fernandinho, Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus are the constants. Yaya Toure gets the chance to say bye bye in style: the legendary 34-year-old midfielder is named captain on his last appearance at the Etihad.
Albion by contrast just make the one change to the team that untied Manchester United last Friday. Leonardo Ulloa takes the place of Glenn Murray.
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Chelsea: Caballero, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, Zappacosta, Fabregas, Kante, Alonso, Willian, Pedro, Morata.
Subs: Barkley, Hazard, Bakayoko, Moses, Giroud, Cahill, Eduardo.
Huddersfield Town: Lossl, Smith, Jorgensen, Schindler, Kongolo, Lowe, Billing, Hogg, Mooy, van La Parra, Depoitre.
Subs: Malone, Coleman, Pritchard, Ince, Quaner, Mounie, Hadergjonaj.
Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire).
Chelsea, chasing their fifth Premier League win on the bounce, make six changes to the team who saw off Liverpool on Sunday. Willy Caballero, Andreas Christensen, Davide Zappacosta, Willian, Pedro and Alvaro Morata replace Thibaut Courtois, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Victor Moses and Olivier Giroud.
Huddersfield, fresh off the back of that unlikely point at Manchester City, make three changes. Laurent Depoitre, Rajiv van la Parra and Philip Billing take the places of Florent Hadergjonaj, Alex Pritchard and Steve Mounie.
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Leicester City: Jakupovic, Simpson, Morgan, Maguire, Fuchs, Mahrez, Choudhury, Adrien Silva, Diabate, Vardy, Iheanacho.
Subs: Gray, Hamer, Dragovic, Iborra, Benalouane, Thomas, Barnes.
Arsenal: Cech, Maitland-Niles, Holding, Mavropanos, Kolasinac, Iwobi, Xhaka, Ramsey, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang, Welbeck.
Subs: Mertesacker, Ospina, Mustafi, Nelson, Nketiah, Osei-Tutu, Willock.
Referee: Graham Scott (Oxfordshire).
Leicester City, who have lost four of their last five and drawn the other 0-0, make three changes to the side beaten at home by West Ham a few days ago. Eldin Jakupovic takes over from Ben Hamer in goal, while Danny Simpson and Kelechi Iheanacho take the places of Yohan Benalouane and Vicente Iborra.
Arsenal, still looking for their first away point in 2018 (!), make four changes to the team that saw off Burnley 5-0 on Sunday. Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Rob Holding, Aaron Ramse and Danny Welbeck come in for Calum Chambers, Hector Bellerin, Jack Wilshere and Alexandre Lacazette.
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Preamble
There’s some big Premier League action on the card tonight:
Chelsea v Huddersfield Town (7.45pm)
Leicester City v Arsenal (7.45pm)
Manchester City v Brighton & Hove Albion (8pm)
Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United (8pm)
There’ll be a fair bit of drama at the top of the table, as Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur chase a top-four finish and Champions League participation next season. A win for Spurs will send them third. Victory for Chelsea will see them perched on Liverpool’s shoulder, level on points but with an inferior goal difference. Whatever happens, it’ll be all to play for on Sunday ...
... unless Huddersfield pull off a win at Stamford Bridge, that is. In which case Chelsea’s top-four bid would be over in the event of a Spurs win, while Huddersfield would pretty much condemn Swansea to relegation. In fact, a point for the Terriers tonight is enough to save their skin! In either of those scenarios, Swansea would be as good as down, unless they beat Stoke 5-0 at the weekend and Southampton are identically thrashed by Manchester City. Swansea have scored two goals in their last nine matches, so that’s not going to happen, is it.
Meanwhile up north, champions Celtic take on Kilmarnock while Hearts and Hibs face off in the Edinburgh derby. It’s a busy night all right. It’s the penultimate Clocko o’ the 2017-18 season. It’s on!
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