Thank you very much for your company today. Here is Paul Wilson’s report from Elland Road.
The football has not finished here ... join Rob Smyth for Man United v Palace.
Angel Gomes has made his Boavista debut alongside Manchester City legend Javi Garcia against Nacional. It is currently 2-2.
Here is my interview with the next big thing in Serie A ...
A decent finish ...
Patrick Bamford gets his goal thanks to a cool finish!
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) September 19, 2020
He has two in two this season after scoring only once in his previous 2️⃣7️⃣ Premier League games 👊 pic.twitter.com/LJ5DlLAkmb
“I think there will be a few long meetings this week to workout what we can do better,” says Patrick Bamford.
League Two results
Carlisle 2-0 Southend
Colchester 2-0 Bolton
Crawley 1-0 Scunthorpe
Exeter City 0-2 Port Vale
Forest Green 2-2 Bradford
Grimsby 0-4 Salford
Harrogate 2-2 Walsall
Leyton Orient 2-2 Mansfield
Morecambe 0-5 Cambridge
Newport 2-1 Barrow
Stevenage 3-0 Oldham
Tranmere 0-3 Cheltenham
League One results
AFC Wimbledon 4-4 Plymouth
Blackpool 2-0 Swindon
Bristol Rovers 0-2 Ipswich
Burton 2-1 Accrington
Charlton 1-3 Doncaster
Hull 1-0 Crewe
MK Dons 1-2 Lincoln
Oxford 0-2 Sunderland
Peterborough 2-1 Fleetwood
Shrewsbury 1-2 Northampton
Wigan 2-3 Gillingham
Championship results
Nottingham Forest 0-2 Cardiff
Blackburn 5-0 Wycombe
Brentford 3-0 Huddersfield
Luton 2-1 Derby
Middlesbrough 1-1 Bournemouth
Norwich 2-2 Preston
Reading 2-0 Barnsley
Rotherham 0-1 Millwall
Sheffield Wednesday 0-0 Watford
Swansea 0-0 Birmingham.
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“Dundee United 2 St. Mirren 1. Never in doubt. Great three points for Micky Mellon’s Tangerine Army. United up to sixth. What a team!” Thanks Simon McMahon.
Leeds showed they have plenty going forward, with many a slick move. It is also promising to see Patrick Bamford scoring in the Premier League and they will be hoping he will carry on this form.
Fulham managed to attack successfully, something they rarely did against Arsenal last week. However, that defence is woeful.
Full-time: Leeds 4-3 Fulham
What a game! Once again Leeds have shown they will bring entertainment to the Premier League. A second 4-3 result in two games but they were on the right side of the score on this occasion. Fulham really need to learn how to defend or just buy a new defence.
Leeds are taking the ball into the corner to waste time. I hope Bielsa fines them for going against his philosophy.
Four minutes added on at Elland Road.
Tete is booked for simultaneously pulling back and kicking Harrison at the same time. I am not sure he learned that in the Ajax academy.
In unsurprising news: Mitrovic has been booked for giving the referee some lip.
Updated
Adam Armstrong has completed his hat-trick to make it 5-0 to Blackburn against Wycombe.
Updated
Gooch has doubled the lead for Sunderland at Oxford, which is good news for the three Black Cat fans stood on a van behind the end without a stand.
Anguissa, who has had an excellent game, is suffering from a bit of cramp. Fulham will need him to be at his best for the final five minutes or so here.
Plymouth have come back from being 4-2 down to level things up at 4-4 against AFC Wimbledon. A cracker at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.
“It’s up for grabs in the SPL now, as Dundee United lead 2-1 against St. Mirren, Celtic lead Livingston 3-2, Kilmarnock lead Hamilton 2-1, and Ross County are 1-0 up at St. Johnstone...”
Courtesy of Simon McMahon.
There is no attempt from Leeds to slow things down at all in this frenetic match. They are looking to score enough rather than preserve what they have.
Kishalay Banjeree says: “Much like their supporters’ blood pressure, Leeds are playing fast and loose with my Fantasy Premier League points.”
I am very pleased I left Fantasy League a couple of years ago.
Dasilva has given Brentford the lead over Huddersfield in a game I earlier tipped to be interesting.
Two good saves from Areola. First he gets down well to stop a shot from Alioski, he then gets up to grab hold of the followup. Down the other end, Mitrovic volleys into the arms of Meslier. It’s end-to-end stuff.
It is now 5-0 to Cambridge. There will be dancing at Rushden Manor tonight.
“After last week’s scintillating match with Liverpool and now this goal fest, Leeds is now my ‘’must watch’’ team after Liverpool!” Mike MacKenzie says.
Yeah, everyone will be watching Leeds win or lose 4-3 each week.
Lemina comes on for Fulham to provide some stability in midfield, as Reed makes way. Meanwhile Bamford is replaced by Alioski.
Updated
Simon McMahon asks: “What are the odds on Leeds scoring 100 league goals this season, yet still ending up with a negative goal difference?!”
High.
OFF THE POST! Good work from Anguissa allows him to knock the ball to Kebano in the box, he cuts inside and fires a shot against the base of the Leeds post.
GOAL! Leeds 4-3 Fulham (Mitrovic, 67)
GAME ON! Tete swings in a lovely cross from the right, which lands on head of Mitrovic who heads home from six yards with Meslier nowhere to be seen.
Updated
Williams has added a fourth for Blackburn against Wycombe, who are down to 10 men, to officially make it a rout.
GOAL! Leeds 4-2 Fulham ( Decordova-Reid, 63)
Abguissa takes a lovely touch and slips the ball into the path of Decordova-Reid, who gets the ball out of his feet and smashes the ball across the goalkeeper and into the corner.
Fulham have made two attacking changes, bringing on Kebano and Decordova-Reid, which probably won’t help their defence.
GOAL! Leeds 4-1 Fulham (Helder Costa, 57)
Meslier starts things off with a fine kick out to the left, which Hector fails to win on the halfway line, allowing Bamford to drive into the box and pull it back for Costa who whacks it into the roof of the net at the first time of asking. Fulham’s defence is woeful.
Whenever I saw Fulham last season, I didn’t think Dennis Odoi was up to much and he has done very little to convince me otherwise this season.
Will Max Rushden be in a fit state to host the pod on Monday? Cambridge United are 4-0 up at Morecambe after 54 minutes.
Down at Swansea, Alan Tate has been making friends with Birmingham ...
🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/iKG02dh5FK
— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) September 19, 2020
GOAL! Leeds 3-1 Fulham (Bamford, 50)
A cracking pass from Klich finds Bamford in between the centre-back ad full-back, allowing him to open up his body and curl in Leeds’ third.
Updated
Leeds goalkeeper Meslier is fantastic with the ball at his feet; he never looks hurried and has a great passing range. I assume he will now make a heinous error.
A change for Leeds at the break as Tyler Roberts replaces Rodrigo.
Second half
Another 45 minutes of fun!
Stat attack ...
4 - There have been four penalties in Leeds' two Premier League games this season; the most in a team's first two games in a single campaign since Bolton in 2002-03 (also four). Cost. #LEEFUL pic.twitter.com/EnjzZy7AYS
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 19, 2020
A bad day for Forest ...
League Two HT scores
Carlisle 2-0 Southend FT result
Colchester 1-0 Bolton
Crawley 1-0 Scunthorpe
Exeter City 0-1 Port Vale
Forest Green 0-0 Bradford
Grimsby 0-1 Salford
Harrogate 2-1 Walsall
Leyton Orient 0-0 Mansfield
Morecambe 0-3 Cambridge
Newport 1-1 Barrow
Stevenage 0-0 Oldham
Tranmere 0-3 Cheltenham
Updated
League One HT scores
AFC Wimbledon 1-2 Plymouth
Blackpool 1-0 Swindon
Bristol Rovers 0-0 Ipswich
Burton 0-0 Accrington
Charlton 0-1 Doncaster
Hull 0-0 Crewe
MK Dons 0-1 Lincoln
Oxford 0-0 Sunderland
Peterborough 0-0 Fleetwood
Shrewsbury 0-1 Northampton
Wigan 1-2 Gillingham
Some half-time viewing ...
A look at what Liverpool are getting with Thiago Alcântara pic.twitter.com/RG23F8fBwO
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) September 19, 2020
Championship HT scores
Nottingham Forest 0-2 Cardiff FT result
Blackburn 3-0 Wycombe
Brentford 0-0 Huddersfield
Luton 1-0 Derby
Middlesbrough 0-1 Bournemouth
Norwich 1-2 Preston
Reading 0-0 Barnsley
Rotherham 0-0 Millwall
Sheffield Wednesday 0-0 Watford
Swansea 0-0 Birmingham
Updated
Half-time: Leeds 2-1 Fulham
It’s a good game at Elland Road, with some nice football and plenty of mistakes to keep things interesting. The challenges for both penalties were pretty thick from the defenders involved, not to mention how bad Fulham were at defending the corner which resulted in Helder Costa giving Leeds the lead.
Fulham are certainly in this game, they have grown since going behind early on. They just need to string a few passes together and stop doing stupid things at the back.
GOAL! Leeds 2-1 Fulham (Klich, pen, 41)
The Leeds man sends the ‘keeper the wrong way to slot home.
Updated
PENALTY TO LEEDS! Bamford goes down after Bryan puts a hand on his back. The striker chucked himself down after the touch but it certainly is a penalty. That is stupid from Bryan.
“Lawrence Shankland has just put United ahead with a superb volleyed finish,” Simon adds. “I’m claiming an assist.”
Try telling that to Opta.
Blackburn are already 3-0 up against Wycombe, with Armstrong scoring his second after Dolan doubled the lead. Wycombe can’t be loving life in the second tier at the moment.
Simon McMahon updates from Scotland: “Nil - nil at Tannadice after half an hour, Will. Not a great game so far if I’m being honest, both teams lucky to have nil. Livingston took a shock lead at Celtic Park but it’s now 2-1 Celtic. Kilmarnock and Hamilton level at 1-1, goalless between St. Johnstone and Ross County.”
GOAL! Leeds 1-1 Fulham (Mitrovic, 34)
The striker hits the ball low to the ‘keeper’s right and it goes under his body.
Updated
PENALTY TO FULHAM! Koch has given away his second penalty in just his second game for Leeds. He slides in, tries to pull out but still clips Bryan in the box.
Updated
Max Rushden is running around swinging his t-shirt above his head as Wes Hoolahan has just given Cambridge the lead at Morecambe.
There is far too much shadow on the pitch at Elland Road, less than ideal for viewing purposes.
Fulham whack a 60-yard pass aimlessly up the pitch, which Dallas calmly head back to his goalkeeper. What a waste of time.
Bamford gets in behind - but looks about a yard offside - only for his first touch to put the ball behind him, allowing Odoi to come back and clear for a corner. Koch heads the corner powerfully at goal but Areola is there to tip it over.
Wigan, who have a team made up of players on short-term contracts and those they couldn’t sell, scored the opener in the 21st minute through Garner but Graham equalised a minute later for Gillingham. Not much going right for the Latics at the moment.
Leeds are very much on top at Elland Road, unsurprisingly as Fulham look like a Championship side, while the hosts are a cut above.
A couple of penalties have got the scoring going in the Championship. Adam Armstrong converted for Blackburn against Wycombe, while Scott Sinclair has given Preston the lead at Norwich.
Updated
Bielsa is crouched on the sidelines, as he likes to. He must spend around 70 minutes in that position, his calfs and quads must be bloody strong.
Hector should equalise for Fulham, as he finds space in the box from a corner but his header from 10 yards out flicks off Koch and goes over.
Mary Waltz says: “Fulham- Defense. Pray tell, what does that mean. we are not familiar with that concept.”
Yeah, they’re not the best.
Both Leeds and Fulham are trying to play some nice football but the away team are yet to find much rhythm at Elland Road.
Onomah is finding a bit too much space in the middle of the park for Bielsa’s liking. The players quickly make up for it by crowding out the Fulham man, to be fair to them.
Fulham’s defence was woeful last week and, frankly, the defending for that corner as utterly pathetic. How on earth did they allow Helder Costa to get a good five yards of space or in the box, giving him time to take a touch before shooting?
GOAL! Leeds 1-0 Fulham (Helder Costa, 5)
Not a bad way to mark the return of Premier League football to Elland Road. A Phillips corner makes it way to the back post, where Helder Costa is waiting, he takes a touch and then rifles it in off the bar for the opener.
Updated
The pitch at Elland Road looks good, as it should for its first league game of the season. I also greatly appreciate the contrast of the red and white kits. Nothing of note happening on the pitch.
Kick-off!
Peep! Peep! Peep! Go the whistles around the country.
Benik Afobe and Lewis Baker are both making their debuts for Eddie Newton’s Trabzonspor today. They are currently drawing 0-0 with Denizlispor away.
Looks like a lovely day for it in Leeds.
Real Madrid are back in action this week. Sid Lowe has everything you need to know.
Brentford v Huddersfield will be a fun game in the Championship, I reckon. The Bees have a very clear philosophy and an exciting bunch of players, something the Terriers are trying to copy/emulate with their appointment of Carlos Corberán, in my humble opinion.
It is Hellas Verona v Roma today, so you should all read my interview with a player who moved from the former to the latter this week. Marash Kumbulla has a big future ahead of him, that’s for sure.
Fulham have changed their goalkeeper and right-back following last week’s defeat to Arsenal. Areola and Tete both make their debuts having arrived from Ligue 1 this summer. The goalkeeper Areola joined from PSG after a spell on loan at Real Madrid and Tete, who is a product of Ajax’s famous academy, was signed from Lyon. I look forward to see how they cope in the Premier League.
Loads (1o things) to look out for this weekend ...
“Afternoon Will,” Simon says. “Great to have Clockwatch back. Four fixtures in the SPFL today, the pick of them at Tannadice where, following consecutive 4-0 defeats to Kilmarnock and Rangers, Micky Mellon’s Dundee United look to get back on track against St. Mirren. Depending on other results, a win for last years Championship winners United could see them rise to fifth in the table, as only three points currently separate Ross County in fifth and Motherwell in twelfth and last place. Celtic can go top with a win against Livingston, and the other two fixtures are Kilmarnock v Hamilton and St. Johnstone v Ross County.”
Some joyous treats north of the border, too! Thanks Simon.
Team news: Leeds v Fulham
Leeds: Meslier; Dallas, Cooper, Koch, Ayling; Phillips; Harrison, Hernández, Klich, Costa; Bamford.
Subs: Caprile, Alioski, Struijk, Shackleton, Roberts, Poveda, Rodrigo
Fulham: Areola; Tete, Hector, Odoi, Bryan; Anguissa, Reed; Cavaleiro, Onomah, Kamara; Mitrovic.
Subs: Rodák, Ream, Knockaert, Lemina, Cairney, Kebano, Decordova-Reid
And here is something a bit novel ... football fans at a football match.
Here is the match preview to get you in the mood.
Good afternoon!
A newly-promoted side, back where they belong and playing incredibly expansive football under one of the most-lauded managers in history. Anyway, that’s enough about Scott Parker’s Fulham.
Leeds United are hosting their first Premier League game in 16 years against a side they have been looking forward to ever since they played each other last season. Elland Road will be empty, costing Rodrigo and others the chance to soak in the atmosphere of a packed stadium.
Both Leeds and Fulham lost last weekend, the former putting in a fine performance in a 4-3 defeat to champions Liverpool, while Fulham’s defence showed its shortcomings against Arsenal. Bielsa and Parker will be desperate to get off the mark today in order to kickstart their season.
Below the Premier League, there is Middlesbrough against Bournemouth, minus Neil Warnock, who has tested positive for coronavirus.
Anyway, let’s all hope for a cracking day of football across the country.
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