Match reports
Hull 2-0 Liverpool:
Crystal Palace 0-4 Sunderland:
Everton 6-3 Bournemouth:
West Brom 1-0 Stoke City:
Southampton 1-3 West Ham:
Watford 2-1 Burnley:
OK, we’re going to wrap this blog up now. Stick around for Tottenham v Boro, and we’ll have loads more reports and analysis on a really entertaining day in the Premier League. Thanks for reading. Bye!
Full-time: Barcelona 3-0 Athletic Bilbao
Barcelona move within a point of Real. A note on Messi’s free kick: he hit it well, but Gorka Iraizoz should have saved it. It’s a goalkeeping mistake.
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It’s so packed at the bottom: just two points separate the bottom six. Sunderland are still on the bottom, but Palace have really been sucked back into it. What a result from Selhurst Park!
Premier League wrap
A big day in the Prem: Hull have beaten Liverpool 2-0, Palace have been dinged 4-0 at home by Sunderland, Romelu Lukaku scored four as Everton beat Bournemouth 6-3, West Ham came from behind to beat Saints 3-1, Watford edged 10-man Burnley 2-1, and West Brom overcame Stoke by a goal to nil. Lots of goals, lots to see, and it’s not over yet – Tottenham v Boro is upcoming:
Scottish Premiership full-time scores
Motherwell 0-3 Hearts
Aberdeen 2-0 Partick
Hamilton 1-1 Kilmarnock
Inverness 2-2 Dundee
Rangers 1-1 Ross County
Newcastle are back on top of the Championship. They’ve beaten Derby 1-0.
Here’s Mark Turner: “Messi’s goal was a keeper howler as much as a bit of cheek genius. Not even a candidate for goal of the day. Good match though, Bilbao tried to take it to Barsa. Neymar back on form.”
Championship full-time scores
Barnsley 0-0 Preston
Birmingham 1-0 Fulham
Blackburn 1-0 QPR
Bristol City 1-0 Rotherham
Burton 2-1 Wolves
Cardiff 0-1 Norwich
Ipswich 2-2 Reading
Newcastle 1-0 Derby
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Premier League full-time scores
Crystal Palace 0-4 Sunderland
Everton 6-3 Bournemouth
Hull 2-0 Liverpool
Southampton 1-3 West Ham
Watford 2-1 Burnley
West Brom 1-0 Stoke
GOAL! Everton 6-3 Bournemouth (Barkley 90 +3)
They’ve gone mad at Goodison. Ross Barkley completes the scoring.
Full-time: Hull 2-0 Liverpool
What a result at the Kcom. Superb from the hosts, but serious disappointment for Liverpool.
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Here’s Henry Carter: “Re: Messi goal. Absolutely no comment on one of the goals of the year? He scored a direct free kick almost from the goal line!”
Great! I didn’t see it. But I’ll be sure to catch the replay!
GOAL! Everton 5-3 Bournemouth (Arter 90)
What a game at Goodison. Harry Arter scores his first goal for a year, but it’s a mere consolation.
Into stoppage time at Hull. What will Jürgen Klopp say?
Reading have just equalised at Ipswich. Rangers are pushing for a late winner against Ross County after Lee Wallace’s leveller.
GOAL! Barcelona 3-0 Athletic (Aleix Vidal 67)
And that should be that at Camp Nou.
Here’s Martin Kerr: “That’s what you get for playing Lucas at centre-back. Offers nothing going forward, nothing defensively. He can’t even mark a lone forward for a breakaway in the last five minutes. No pace, no strength. Why is he in the team?”
GOAL! Everton 5-2 Bournemouth (Lukaku 85)
Romelu Lukaku’s fourth of the afternoon! What a fine striker he is. And Everton move within two points of Man United in sixth.
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Liverpool. Bloody hell! What’s going on?
GOAL! Everton 4-2 Bournemouth (Lukaku 83)
Romelu Lukaku scores the 300th Premier League hat-trick, and the home fans at Goodison breathe a sigh of relief.
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GOAL! Hull 2-0 Liverpool (Niasse 84)
Oh my! Oumar Niasse’s first ever Premier League goal, and Liverpool’s title hopes have probably just evaporated.
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Lukas Jutkiewicz has given Blues the lead against Fulham. Down the road at The Hawthorns, Saido Berahino has been booed a lot.
Liverpool have 10 minutes to save their season.
GOAL! Watford 2-1 Burnley (Barnes pen 78)
Sebastian Prodl is penalised for handball, and Ashley Barnes slots the penalty for Burnley.
And Charles Antaki is watching Barcelona: “Plenty of ebb and flow at the Nou Camp, although one thing is settling into established fact – Barça have definitely given up familiar doctrine of keeping possession; Athletic have has as much of the ball and could easily have scored two or three times with it. No Iniesta, no Busquets; and Andre Gomes, Rafinha, and Arda Turan failing their auditions (again).”
An email from Kevin Porter: “Burton’s equaliser means that’s five ex-Wolves players who have scored against us this season: Kightly, Van la Parra, Ebanks-Blake, Hammill and Le Fondre. Couldn’t we have taken out an injunction or something?”
By all accounts, Everton, after strolling into a 3-0 lead, are hanging on against Bournemouth. Typical. Still 3-2 at Goodison.
Milan Djuric has given Bristol City the lead over Rotherham. At Birmingham, Fulham’s Ryan Fredericks has been sent off for a bad foul on Craig Gardner.
GOAL! Everton 3-2 Bournemouth (King 70)
Another goal for Josh King! Could Bournemouth stage an improbable comeback?
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Tom Lawrence’s second goal has made it Ipswich 2-1 Reading. In Germany, Hoffenheim have thrashed Mainz 4-0, and Moenchengladbach have beaten Freiburg 3-0.
Hull are defending resolutely, but Liverpool are cranking it up. Twenty minutes to go at the KCom.
Palace have now used all three subs, but 20 minutes into the second half, they’re still 4-0 down. At Hull, Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge is on for Emre Can.
Full-time at the Allianz Arena, and a missed opportunity for Bayern. It’s finished 1-1.
Clark McMillan writes: “‘Mignolet probably should have done better’ should be etched on the tombstone of 2010s Liverpool, don’t you think?”
Reading are level at Ipswich, and Jordon Mutch has a debut goal. Michael Kightly has equalised for Burton against Wolves, and in Scotland, Rangers are still behind to Ross County.
Big chance for Abel Hernandez to make it two, and he couldn’t take it! And now the Uruguayan has been hooked for Oumar Niasse.
GOAL! Everton 3-1 Bournemouth (King 59)
A clever finish from Josh King from Jack Wilshere’s pass, and a glimmer of hope for the Cherries.
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JR in Illinois has been watching the Baggies: “Hey Tim, the Baggies are all over the Potters like a duck on a june bug! Pulis has West Brom looking like the Harlem Globetrotters. I’m really hoping we make it through the end of the season before all life is extinguished from planet earth. I’m not used to liking watching West Brom so much.”
Hull are the only team in the Premier League not to have kept a home clean sheet all year. They couldn’t, could they?
Kári Tulinius has news from the south of France: “Hello Tim, the derby de la Côte d’Azur between Monaco and Nice is off to an entertaining start. This is probably the first time that this fixture has been a top of the table clash, certainly the first time both teams have been equal on points in first and second. Though since this is being contested at Monaco, there are empty seats even for a local derby of entertaining, exciting teams. Enjoy the afternoon madness!”
Yes, a very good-looking fixture! And Mario Balotelli is starting for the visitors.
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Schalke are a couple of minutes away from a very good point at Bayern. The Bavarians’ failure to win also gives RB Leipzig a sniff – they play Dortmund in the late kick-off.
GOAL! Southampton 1-3 West Ham (Davis og 52)
It looks as though Saints are missing Virgil van Dijk and Jose Fonte. Mark Noble’s free kick is turned past his keeper by Steven Davis, and West Ham have come back very well.
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We’re back under way everywhere, of course. Rangers still behind in Scotland, and Aberdeen-Partick remains goalless.
Here’s Steve Rackett: “Palace started this match with goal difference of -9, Sunderland with -22, a difference of 13 and Palace easily had the best goal difference of the bottom four, it was worth an extra point. Now they are at -13 and Sunderland at -18, and this match has unexpectedly turned from a six-pointer to a seven-pointer!”
If Sunderland don’t implode in this second half, Jack Rodwell will end up on the winning side for the first in 38 games. Good player, Rodwell: I just think he should never have left Everton.
GOAL! Barcelona 2-0 Athletic (Messi 40)
The peerless Leo Messi doubles Barcelona’s advantage, and Barcelona look like they’re going to cut the gap at the top to one point. Real have two games in hand, though, remember.
In the Championship, there hasn’t been much to report, but Newcastle lead Derby, Ipswich are ahead against Reading, Wolves lead Burton 1-0, and Norwich have the lead over Cardiff.
This really is an unbelievable scoreline at Selhurst Park. Palace four-nil down at half-time. To Sunderland! Bloody hell.
4 - Sunderland have scored as many away goals today (4) as they did in their previous nine Premier League away games combined. Feast.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 4, 2017
Palace conceded three goals in five minutes at the end of that first half. What’s happening to them? Cries of “You’re not fit to wear the shirt” from the home fans, who must be seriously pissed off.
Amid that late flurry of goals, Watford went 2-0 ahead against Burnley, thanks to M’baye Niang’s goal in stoppage time.
Premier League half-time scores
Crystal Palace 0-4 Sunderland
Everton 3-0 Bournemouth
Hull 1-0 Liverpool
Southampton 1-2 West Ham
Watford 2-0 Burnley
West Brom 1-0 Stoke
GOAL! Crystal Palace 0-4 Sunderland (Defoe 45+3)
You’ve got to be kidding me. Sunderland now lead 4-0! Unbelievable!
GOAL! Crystal Palace 0-3 Sunderland (Defoe 45)
Wow. Sunderland now lead 3-0. Palace!
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GOAL! Southampton 1-2 West Ham (Obiang 44)
And now West Ham lead! Pedro Obiang follows his assist with a goal.
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GOAL! Crystal Palace 0-2 Sunderland (N'Dong 43)
This could be a huge goal. N’Dong took it really well, Sunderland now lead 2-0, and Sam Allardyce is full of fume.
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GOAL! Hull City 1-0 Liverpool (N'Diaye 45)
And Hull take the lead! A soft, soft goal for Liverpool to concede: Maguire won the first header from the corner, and Alfred N’Diaye reacted quickest to head home. Simon Mignolet probably should have done better.
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Norwich have gone 1-0 up at Cardiff through Cameron Jerome. And in Scotland, Rangers are behind against Ross County – Alex Schalk with the goal.
Wolves have just taken the lead at Burton. Helder Costa, the club’s record buy, gets the goal from the penalty spot.
GOAL! Barcelona 1-0 Athletic (Paco Alcácer 18)
Neymar’s cross, Alcacer’s neat finish, and Barcelona lead 1-0.
Liverpool finding life tough at Hull so far. It’s still 0-0, and Hull’s defence has stood up well.
GOAL! Newcastle 1-0 Derby (Ritchie 27)
Newcastle take the lead against Derby, and temporarily leapfrog Brighton at the top.
GOAL! Everton 3-0 Bournemouth (Lukaku 29)
Romelu Lukaku’s 14th goal of the season, and it was a complete gimme. Simon Francis played a terrible square pass straight to the Belgian, and he smashed it past Boruc for 3-0.
That really was bad luck for Bournemouth. McCarthy’s first effort was blocked, but it ricocheted back off him, and dribbled past Artur Boruc. Fortunate for Everton.
GOAL! Everton 2-0 Bournemouth (McCarthy 24)
Everton double their lead. Lukaku escapes down the right side, and finds James McCarthy, chugging up from central midfield, and he finishes at the second attempt after a lucky ricochet. Bad luck for Bournemouth, but that might be game over.
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6 - Jeff Hendrick's red card (6 mins) was the quickest in the PL since March 21 2015 (Gareth McAuley for West Brom v Man City 2 mins). Bath.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 4, 2017
Tony Gold points out that Dele Alli, along with Kane, could be an English attacker in the team of the season. Yep, Alli’s been terrific, hasn’t he? One of my colleague Rob Smyth’s favourites.
Twenty minutes gone, and no goals yet in the Championship. But there will be!
A breathless start in the Premier League: goals in each game except Hull v Liverpool. Barcelona, incidentally, have just kicked off, and Luis Suarez starts on the bench.
GOAL! Southampton 1-1 West Ham (Carroll 14)
Saints’ lead lasted two minutes. Carroll ran beyond the defence and finished neatly with his right foot. A lovely through ball, too from Obiang.
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GOAL! Southampton 1-0 West Ham (Gabbiadini 12)
It’s raining goals. And what a goal from the debutant Manolo Gabbiadini. A fizzing left-foot shot from inside the box that nearly took the net off! Saints lead.
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GOAL! Watford 1-0 Burnley (Deeney 10)
And another early goal! Troy Deeney heads home M’Baye Niang’s’s cross as the Burnley defence stood and watched.
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GOAL! Crystal Palace 0-1 Sunderland (Koné 10)
A big, big goal at Selhurst, and Sunderland have it. But was that a foul on Palace keeper Wayne Hennessey? No matter: Koné did very well to finish after his original header was saved. Sunderland lead.
RED CARD! Jeff Hendrick (Burnley)
Burnley’s away form is dreadful, and their task at Vicarage Road just got a whole lot more difficult. Barely seven minutes gone, and Jeff Hendrick has been shown a straight red by Michael Oliver for a two-footed tackle on José Holebas. It looked a bad one, and Burnley are down to 10.
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GOAL! West Brom 1-0 Stoke (Morrison 6)
And that’s a lovely goal, too. Nacer Chadli finds James Morrison, who had run beyond the Stoke defence, and the midfielder finishes very nicely with his left foot.
GOAL! Everton 1-0 Bournemouth (Lukaku 1)
The day’s first goal in the Premier League, and Everton have it. Thirty-one seconds gone, and that’s a lovely finish from Romelu Lukaku. Could be a long afternoon for Bournemouth.
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Here’s Drew Gough: “Hi Tim, having just watched Walcott, Ox, and eventually Welbeck labour against Chelsea, I’ve turned to the Liverpool game to see Sturridge on the bench. That’s the last great generation of England attackers proven useless. Is there a single England attacker that would be in anyone’s team of the season? I’m Canadian, so this isn’t born out of national pride.”
Yeah, the cupboard’s a little bare at the moment, isn’t it? At the moment it seems there’s Harry Kane, and then daylight.
“It’s starting to feel like we are witnessing one of the great managerial performances of the modern era.” Here’s Daniel Taylor’s match report of an excellent performance from Antonio Conte’s side:
Barcelona can narrow the gap at the top of La Liga to a point with victory over Athletic in the day’s big game. On Sunday, Sevilla, hot on Barca’s heels, host Villarreal, and Real Madrid travel to Celta.
A couple of early goals in the big game in the Bundesliga: Robert Lewandowksi gave Bayern the lead against Schalke, but Naldo has just equalised with a free kick. But should Manuel Neuer have saved it?
22 - Everton are only one point shy this season (22) of their total home league points (23) for the whole of the 2015-16 season. Objective.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 4, 2017
Hearts have beaten Motherwell 3-0 at Fir Park, and they close the gap on Rangers and Aberdeen in second and third. Celtic, almost improbably, are 25 points clear at the top of the league: they’ve won 22 and drawn one of their first 23 games.
John Archdeacon writes: “Saints’ best defender plays for the opposition? Pretty sure Virgil Van Diamond is still at Southampton … even if he has foot-knack.”
It’s finished in west London. Chelsea are now 12 points clear at the top.
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Sadio Mané is back in the starting lineup for Liverpool, and Lucas comes in for Dejan Lovren in defence. Manolo Gabbiadini makes his full debut for Saints against West Ham, and Saido Berahino begins on the bench against his former club.
Premier League teams
Crystal Palace v Sunderland
Crystal Palace: Hennessey, Ward, Dann, Delaney, Tomkins, Van Aanholt, Zaha, McArthur, Cabaye, Puncheon, Christian Benteke. Subs: Speroni, Flamini, Remy, Townsend, Sakho, Ledley, Fryers.
Sunderland: Mannone, Denayer, O’Shea, Kone, Jones, Ndong, Rodwell, Larsson, Oviedo, Januzaj, Defoe. Subs: Gibson, Borini, Khazri, Mika, Lescott, Pienaar, Manquillo.
Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands)
Everton v Bournemouth
Everton: Robles, Coleman, Funes Mori, Ashley Williams, Baines, Schneiderlin, Barry, Barkley, McCarthy, Lookman, Lukaku. Subs: Jagielka, Mirallas, Gana, Valencia, Stekelenburg, Davies, Holgate.
Bournemouth: Boruc, Francis, Steve Cook, Surman, Mings, Arter, Gosling, Fraser, Wilshere, Pugh, King. Subs: Afobe, Brad Smith, Stanislas, Allsop, Mousset, Ibe, Cargill.
Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire)
Hull v Liverpool
Hull: Jakupovic, Elabdellaoui, Dawson, Maguire, Robertson, Grosicki, Evandro, Huddlestone, Clucas, N’Diaye, Hernandez. Subs: Meyler, Ranocchia, Maloney, Mbokani, Marshall, Niasse, Tymon.
Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Matip, Lucas, Milner, Lallana, Henderson, Can, Mane, Firmino, Coutinho. Subs: Karius, Wijnaldum, Gomez, Sturridge, Moreno, Origi, Alexander-Arnold.
Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)
Southampton v West Ham
Southampton: Forster, Cedric, Stephens, Yoshida, Bertrand, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Davis, Boufal, Gabbiadini, Rodriguez. Subs: Clasie, Gardos, Long, Redmond, Hojbjerg, Taylor, McQueen.
West Ham: Randolph, Kouyate, Reid, Fonte, Antonio, Obiang, Noble, Cresswell, Feghouli, Carroll, Snodgrass. Subs: Lanzini, Adrian, Collins, Fletcher, Calleri, Fernandes, Quina.
Referee: Graham Scott (Oxfordshire)
Watford v Burnley
Watford: Gomes, Cathcart, Prodl, Kaboul, Holebas, Capoue, Behrami, Cleverley, Zarate, Deeney, Niang. Subs: Britos, Success, Doucoure, Janmaat, Watson, Okaka, Arlauskis.
Burnley: Heaton, Lowton, Keane, Mee, Ward, Boyd, Hendrick, Barton, Arfield, Barnes, Gray. Subs: Flanagan, Vokes, Brady, Robinson, Westwood, Gudmundsson, Tarkowski.
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)
West Brom v Stoke
West Brom: Foster, Nyom, Dawson, McAuley, Brunt, Fletcher, Livermore, Chadli, Morrison, Phillips, Rondon. Subs: Olsson, Robson-Kanu, Marc Wilson, Myhill, McClean, Leko, Field.
Stoke: Grant, Bardsley, Shawcross, Martins Indi, Pieters, Whelan, Adam, Afellay, Allen, Arnautovic, Crouch. Subs: Muniesa, Berahino, Bony, Diouf, Imbula, Given, Ngoy.
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)
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Five minutes to go at Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea are going to win the Premier League:
Hello and welcome
It’s another busy Saturday, but better to be busy than just to sit there picking lint out of your belly button, isn’t it? All eyes at the moment are on Chelsea-Arsenal, of course, but it’s a crucial day in the Premier League for Liverpool, who visit Hull in desperate need of victory: failure to pick up three points in East Yorks would almost certainly mean the Reds’ title challenge is kaput. Six games in the Premier League to keep an eye on:
- Crystal Palace v Sunderland: A big game at the bottom. Which of these two is going down? Both?
- Everton v Bournemouth: Everton are improving, and this is tough trip for the Cherries – they haven’t won all year.
- Hull v Liverpool: A must-win for Klopp and his team. Must!
- Southampton v West Ham: 12th plays 11th, and Saints’ best defender now plays for the opposition.
- Watford v Burnley: The Clarets are good at home, but terrible away. After their wholly unlikely victory at Arsenal, expect Watford to win.
- West Brom v Stoke: Pantomime villain Berahino goes back to Albion for further jeers, but both of these teams are in decent shape.
Elsewhere, there’s Newcastle v Derby in the Championship, Rangers v Ross County in the Scottish Premiership, Barcelona v Athletic in La Liga, and Bayern v Schalke in the Bundesliga. Lots of games, lots to keep track of, and we’ll do our best to bring you all the action as it happens.
Tim will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Chelsea v Arsenal, live, with Rob Smyth:
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