We’ll wrap things up with the report from Leeds 3-3 Cardiff:
Eddie Howe speaks
I am so pleased for all the players. We tried to frustrate them and frustrate their creative players and be a threat on the break. I Gos [Dan Gosling] and I had a feeling he would be on. It’s the good side of VAR as it would have been disallowed.
Updated
A good win for Burnley and a poor show from Newcastle.
Frank Lampard speaks
A home loss, not too good from us, which has been the story of us this season; a similar story to that which has been happening recently. They were very organised and we had to make it more difficult for them but we didn’t. We had a really good patch and now we have lost three of four games and you say, “woah, that’s reality, lads”.
Jacob Steinberg was at Stamford Bridge to see a shock victory for Bournemouth.
Brendan Rodgers speaks
I have got a number of players that can come and play. We started with the same eleven from last week that played very well. I needed to make a change and we played with two wingers the second half and we couldn’t quite make the final breakthrough.
#Lampardout seems to be trending on Twitter which seems harsh to say the very least. After all, he is Frank Lampard.
Paul Doyle was at Bramall Lane to see Blades beat Villa 2-0.
Here’s Nick Ames’ report on Leicester 1-1 Norwich.
Rather damning stats here.
West Ham hadn't won in 7 Premier League games until they played Chelsea.
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) December 14, 2019
Bournemouth had lost 5 Premier League games in a row until they played Chelsea. pic.twitter.com/qvF8a88Zca
League Two scores and standings.
The full-time results!#EFL #SkyBetLeagueTwo pic.twitter.com/0j8EW81hxX
— Sky Bet League Two (@SkyBetLeagueTwo) December 14, 2019
.@Official_STFC still looking sweet at the summit. #EFL | #SkyBetLeagueTwo pic.twitter.com/58tHDqUXYE
— Sky Bet League Two (@SkyBetLeagueTwo) December 14, 2019
League One scores and standings.
The full-time scores are in!#EFL | #SkyBetLeagueOne pic.twitter.com/n7Wh69W73K
— Sky Bet League One (@SkyBetLeagueOne) December 14, 2019
.@wwfcofficial go further clear at the top of the table!#EFL | #SkyBetLeagueOne pic.twitter.com/hu0gf1aSSl
— Sky Bet League One (@SkyBetLeagueOne) December 14, 2019
Championship scores and standings.
Same late drama in the #SkyBetChampionship today!
— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) December 14, 2019
Here are the full-time scores!#EFL pic.twitter.com/mePEyfXNXX
.@WBA go back to the summit!#EFL | #SkyBetChampionship pic.twitter.com/IVaVO6c0vt
— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) December 14, 2019
Here’s some Jürgen Klopp press conference action from before. Liverpool have had another good day.
Euro news: Barcelona could only draw 2-2 with Real Sociedad, and Bayern Munich won 6-1 defeat of Werder Bremen with a Philippe Coutinho hat-trick. Robert Lewandowski got two.
Should Manchester United beat Everton tomorrow then they will be just two points behind Frank Lampard’s Chelsea. It’s a funny old game.
Final score: Sheffield United 2-0 Aston Villa
Two John Fleck goals, and a Jack Grealish penalty miss. That’s a fine day for the Blades and Villa are in real danger of the drop; they could really, really do with a goalscorer.
Macclesfield Town’s austerity XI drew 1-1 at Walsall, if you were wondering. I certainly was.
Final score: Leicester 1-1 Norwich
It’s all over and that’s probably that for Leicester’s title challenge. They could not find a winner and Jamie Vardy could not find his goal. Liverpool ten points clear at the top.
It finished Leeds 3-3 Cardiff, which is something of a choke from Marcelo Bielsa’s team.
Updated
Final score: Burnley 1-0 Newcastle
As predicted, it wasn’t a classic and the goal came via a mistake. Sean Dyche’s team continue their trend of beating teams around them.
Final score: Chelsea 0-1 Bournemouth
Chelsea’s slide continues on another day when the Frank Lampard revolution stalled. Looks like spending in January definitely needs to happen. The winning goal was very odd indeed, but Bournemouth deserved their win, having defended so well.
Leicester had three minutes of time added on to find a winner and to stop Jamie Vardy’s scoring run in its tracks.
Newcastle have been poor today, it seems. Burnley’s three-game losing streak is at its end, with Nick Pope not having to get through much work at Turf Moor.
Chelsea pushing on with Kovacic having a shot saved by Aaron Ramsdale.
Oh Leeds! Cardiff have scored their third. Robert Glatzel has got it and West Brom will finish the day top of the Championship. Is this where the Leeds choke begins once more?
Chelsea have five minutes of time added on to chase their equaliser. They seem imbalanced by having so many forwards on the pitch.
Cardiff’s surge may be at an end as goalscorer Sean Morrison has been sent off. It seemed harsh, perhaps an orange card. Relief for Leeds, and they needed it.
Chelsea’s wobble has continued, and they’ve been poor today against an opponent who had lost their last six matches. That Gosling goal was chaotic, and with defending not dissimilar to the chaos for Everton’s first goal last week.
And Leeds have an edgy last eight minutes to play as Sean Morrison has scored for Cardiff. It’s 3-2.
Goal! Chelsea 0-1 Bournemouth (Gosling, 84)
Controversy at Stamford Bridge. Has the ball crossed the line? There is a VAR check to see if anyone was offside. They were not. Oh dear, Frank.
Updated
Chelsea are now piling forward, with Batshuayi on as a sub to make it two strikers on the field. Bournemouth are sat deep and in numbers.
There seems to be a VAR for a retake of that Grealish penalty but it stands as a miss for the bleach-haired musketeer of the Midlands.
Missed penalty for Aston Villa!
Dean Henderson is sent the wrong way but Jack Grealish has hit the bar!
Handball shout at Bramall Lane, as the ball hits Blades’ John Egan. The referee missed it and VAR has intervened. It takes an age to come up with the decision. And the penalty is given.
Swansea are 3-1 up on Middlesbrough now, and Macclesfield have conceded to Walsall. It’s 1-1.
Dominic Solanke is on as a sub for Bournemouth against his old club Chelsea, and the away team are continuing to create chances.
Goal! Sheffield United 2-0 Aston Villa (Fleck, 73)
David McGoldrick is the silky link man, a one-two and Fleck scores his fourth goal in four matches.
Updated
Middlesbrough pay the price for being down to ten men as Andre Ayew scores his second, and puts Swansea 2-1 up.
Leicester miss a golden chance to lead through Wilfred Ndidi.
By the way, Barcelona are locked at 2-2 with Real Sociedad. Luis Suarez put Barca 2-1 up but then came an equaliser from Alexander Isak.
Leeds have conceded a goal to Cardiff, it’s 3-1 now after Lee Tomlin scored.
Bournemouth go close, the ball spilling to Lewis Cook and Chelsea had to scrabble to get the ball clear.
Middlesbrough, having pulled level, are down to ten men, as Marcus Browne has been dismissed.
Andy Carroll might have been sent off, having forearm-smashed Ben Mee. He only got a yellow but got a bit lucky.
Chelsea required to do some last-ditch defending as Kurt Zouma slides in to tackle Josh King with Kepa scrabbling. Still 0-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Middlesbrough have just equalised at Swansea, a much-needed goal for Jonathan Woodgate as Marcus Tavernier scores.
Goal! Burnley 1-0 Newcastle (Wood, 58)
A goalkeeping howler from Martin Dubravka allows Chris Wood to score from close range, just as Burnley were listing.
Updated
Let’s see if this afternoon’s action affects his place in the standings. Did he have John Fleck?
Bio needed an update pic.twitter.com/Wc7z0FUVuj
— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) December 14, 2019
Wesley, Aston Villa’s not exactly firing striker, hits the side-netting with a header at Sheffield United.
Leeds are 3-0 up now on Cardiff, with Patrick Bamford getting his second of the day. Marcelo Bielsa’s team are going to the top.
Close for Leicester: Jamie Vardy kills a ball stone-dead, but cannot steer his shot goalwards. NB: Brenand has made another change.
We've made our second change 🔄#LeiNor pic.twitter.com/fCBw9qskmQ
— Leicester City (@LCFC) December 14, 2019
Goal! Sheffield United 1-0 Aston Villa (Fleck, 50)
A nice build-up sees Lundstram supply John Fleck for the opener. Villa caught cold.
Updated
Sheffield United v Aston Villa was a non-event in the first half, but Blades have come out fighting after one of those Chris Wilder half-time team talks, cups and blue language flying everywhere, no doubt.
In Germany, Philippe Coutinho and Robert Lewandowski have just scored their second goals as Bayern lead Werder Bremen 4-1. Jadon Sancho has scored for Borussia Dortmund who are 2-0 up on Mainz.
This is the big story from the EFL. Oh dear, Forest, and Jordan Rhodes comes in from the cold to score a hat-trick for Sheff Wed.
Stunning first half from the Owls! We lead courtesy of a Rhodes treble and a Fletcher strike! #swfcLIVE pic.twitter.com/KTKbZbWAKC
— Sheffield Wednesday (@swfc) December 14, 2019
The latest scores from across the divisions can be found here.
So, not exactly eventful in the Premier League so far, but the game at Leicester has had a few twists with Kelechi Iheanacho at the centre of matters.
Half-time Premier League scores
Burnley 0-0 Newcastle
Chelsea 0-0 Bournemouth
Leicester 1-1 Norwich
Sheffield United 0-0 Aston Villa
Simon McMahon emails in from the land of the SNP: “Afternoon John. Scottish Championship runaway leaders Dundee United are 1-0 up at Arbroath, Sam Stanton’s early goal the difference. I can confirm that, as required by law for every fixture at Gayfield, which is virtually in the North Sea, it is blowing a gale, and freezing.”
Ouch, it’s 4-0 to Sheffield Wednesday at Nottingham Forest, with Steven Fletcher getting the latest goal.
Updated
Luton equalise against Preston with a James Collins penalty. (Not that James Collins.) It’s 1-1.
Taken out of the firing line? Decisive management from Brendan Rodgers in making a tactical sub a couple of minutes before half-time. He bloody loves a big gesture.
Following the goal, #lcfc have made a change.#LeiNor pic.twitter.com/2t59ofeeTR
— Leicester City (@LCFC) December 14, 2019
That Vardy goal or no goal might end up being like Harry Kane v Stoke a couple of seasons ago... it’s been awarded to Norwich goalie Tim Krul for an own-goal. It’s...not Jamie Vardy.
Over in Spain, Antoine Griezmann has just scored to equalise for Barcelona at old club Real Sociedad. It’s 1-1 and he didn’t celebrate.
Updated
Goal! Leicester 1-1 Norwich (Vardy, 38)
Vardy has scored nine in a row, and his header from James Maddison’s cross goes in via a deflection. But is it an own-goal off Buendia? Let’s see what the dubious goals committee says...
Updated
Controversy at Leicester, as the home team play on after the ball was kicked out for a Norwich player to receive treatment, then Zimmerman brings down Iheanacho. It’s a free-kick, a melee and VAR is taking a look as Cantwell had a swipe at Iheanacho. He escapes with a yellow card. And the referee Andy Madley has returned the ball to Norwich, as the ball should have gone back to them in the first place. Iheancho made quite a bit of the foul on him.
Updated
As predicted, Burnley v Newcastle hasn’t been a classic so far. Burnley are really out of nick and Steve Bruce’s team are functional at best, if effective at the moment.
That Pukki goal puts real pressure on Leicester and is great news for Liverpool. Norwich had been the better team at the King Power, just as Everton were a couple of weeks ago before a Brendan masterclass switched things around.
Goal! Leicester 0-1 Norwich (Pukki, 26)
The flying Finn scores something of a pea-roller of a strike, and perhaps its lack of venom confused Kasper Schmeichel, who was rocking on his heels a little.
Updated
Brentford are leading Fulham 1-0 in the West London derby, with Bryan Mbuemo scoring a header.
Joshua Reynolds calls in: “Watching the Stoke/Reading game which has a Charlie Adam revenge wondergoal written all over it. But my real question is, was Sam Vokes ever good? I know he gets picked for Wales, but...”
It’s a great question I don’t have an answer to.
Bayern Munich were drawing 1-1 with Werder, and needed a Philippe Coutinho equaliser on the stroke of half-time to equalise...but here’s Robert Lewandowski has the ball in the net. There’s a VAR check and that’s a goal. FC Hollywood are 2-1 up!
Chelsea are in the ascendancy, with Tammy Abraham going close as the pressure is piled on Bournemouth.
Norwich miss a golden chance; Teemu Pukki had an open goal against Leicester but it stays at 0-0.
Updated
Sheff Wed now 2-0 up on Nottingham Forest, with Jordan Rhodes scoring a second. He hadn’t scored since January until now.
Penalty shout for Burnley against Newcastle for a Paul Dummett handball but VAR has waved that away.
Leeds are now 2-0 up, and heading back to the top of the Championship after a Patrick Bamford screamer. Sheffield Wednesday, another crisis club, lead Nottingham Forest after a goal from Jordan Rhodes.
Crisis club Macclesfield Town are 1-0 up on Walsall through Miles Welch-Hayes, a good Maxonian name. Come on Silkmen!
Chelsea have gone close through Mason Mount, which has gone against the run of play against Bournemouth.
Leeds United are 1-0 through Helder Costa against Cardiff. They are trying to keep pace with West Brom.
Sunderland’s season in hell continues as they go 1-0 down to Blackpool in League One through Matty Virtue. And Preston are 1-0 up on Luton as Paul Gallagher slots in a rebounded penalty.
Andy Carroll, who has started for Newcastle up front with Joelinton, has just headed wide against Burnley.
First goal in the EFL comes as Blackburn go 1-0 up on Bristol City; Bradley Johnson is the scorer.
Here’s Andy Hunter’s report from Anfield on yet another Liverpool win.
Worth mentioning West Brom’s 3-2 win at Birmingham, after being 1-0 and 2-1 down, and that puts them clear at the top of the Championship.
And away we go in the Premier League and EFL....
Ryan Grubb emails in, and he’s a Football Weekly listener. “Hello John. Happened to catch Nigel’s pre-match interview before the early kickoff and I have to say your impression from this weeks pod was spot on. It felt like an eternity between words. That 20 second interview took about a year and a half. Must make for interesting training sessions...Have a good one!”
Thanks, Ryan.
Kick-off is approaching in the 3pm kick-offs, and all the games will be played in exceedingly cold temperatures. Word reach the desk that it is “freezing at Leicester”.
Another chilly afternoon at the Bridge! 🥶🧤 #CHEBOU pic.twitter.com/vCX0rjzTtb
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 14, 2019
The team news below on Chelsea omitted to mention that Willy Caballero will the back-up goalkeeper.
Looks like Leicester fans have been given some free mince pies.
Festive Foxes 😃#LeiNor pic.twitter.com/L0SNTjH2WB
— Leicester City (@LCFC) December 14, 2019
Enjoy! 😋#LeiNor pic.twitter.com/gmej9XfzKJ
— Leicester City (@LCFC) December 14, 2019
Some Opta stats for the afternoon’s Premier League matches.
- Newcastle’s average possession figure this season is just 32.8%, the lowest in the Premier League. The Magpies are the only side yet to have more possession than their opponents in a single Premier League match this season.
- Bournemouth have lost each of their last six Premier League games in London, conceding 20 goals in the process.
- Aston Villa have won only one of their last 26 Premier League away games (D4 L21). (Sweet memories of Tim Sherwood and Remi Garde)
- No side has conceded the first goal in more Premier League games this season than Norwich (10), with the Canaries going on to lose every single one of those. Meanwhile, Leicester have won their last 19 Premier League games when scoring first.
Liverpool are absolutely cruising it. Poor, poor Pep.
269 teams in PL history have ended the season with fewer points than Liverpool have after 17 games
— Duncan Alexander (@oilysailor) December 14, 2019
Over in Germany, Bayern Munich, back in seventh and looking for a new boss, have just kicked off against Werder Bremen.
Our starting XI to face Werder 🔴#FCBSVW pic.twitter.com/IjJygRkWma
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) December 14, 2019
They’ve been made to work for this by Nigel Pearson’s Watford but Liverpool are now 11 points clear at the top after a 2-0 win. Bit of pressure on Leicester, then.
His Tottenham team don’t play until tomorrow when they face Wolves, but Mourinho is the focus for this week’s column from Andrew Anthony.
After their game against Crewe last week was postponed after a players’ strike because of unpaid wages, Macclesfield do play today at Walsall in League Two after authorities stepped in to make sure they got paid.
We will fight this battle together 💙https://t.co/FtdBPstyoC
— Macclesfield Town (@thesilkmen) December 14, 2019
Updated
The headline team news there is that Kurt Zouma is given another go by Frank Lampard after a harrowing day at Goodison Park last weekend. Leicester are unchanged from last week’s defeat of Aston Villa.
Chelsea v Bournemouth teams
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Zouma, Emerson Palmieri, Kante, Jorginho, Willian, Mount, Pulisic, Abraham.
Subs: Christensen, Pedro, Kovacic, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi, James.
AFC Bournemouth: Ramsdale, Stacey, Francis, Mepham, Rico, Gosling, Lewis Cook, Lerma, Billing, Fraser, King.
Subs: Boruc, Surman, Solanke, Stanislas, Simpson, Kilkenny, Dobre.
Referee: Graham Scott (Oxfordshire)
Burnley v Newcastle teams
Burnley: Pope, Bardsley, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters, Hendrick, Westwood, Cork, McNeil, Barnes, Wood.
Subs: Lowton, Drinkwater, Brady, Gibson, Rodriguez, Hart, Lennon.
Newcastle: Dubravka, Manquillo, Fernandez, Schar, Dummett, Willems, Atsu, Hayden, Sean Longstaff, Carroll, Joelinton.
Subs: Gayle, Muto, Krafth, Lejeune, Elliot, Yedlin, Matthew Longstaff.
Referee: Tim Robinson (West Sussex)
Leicester v Norwich teams
Leicester: Schmeichel, Ricardo Pereira, Evans, Soyuncu, Chilwell, Ndidi, Praet, Tielemans, Maddison, Iheanacho, Vardy.
Subs: Justin, Morgan, Gray, Albrighton, Ward, Barnes, Perez.
Norwich: Krul, Aarons, Zimmermann, Godfrey, Byram, Tettey, Trybull, Emi, McLean, Cantwell, Pukki.
Subs: Vrancic, Hernandez, Lewis, Stiepermann, Fahrmann, Amadou, Srbeny.
Referee: Andrew Madley (West Yorkshire)
Sheffield United v Aston Villa teams.
Sheff Utd: Henderson, Basham, Egan, O’Connell, Baldock, Lundstram, Norwood, Fleck, Stevens, Mousset, McGoldrick.
Subs: Luke Freeman, McBurnie, Sharp, Jagielka, Osborn, Moore, Besic.
Aston Villa: Heaton, Guilbert, Engels, Hause, Targett, McGinn, Nakamba, Lansbury, El Ghazi, Wesley, Grealish.
Subs: Taylor,Douglas Luiz, Konsa, Trezeguet, Nyland, Kodjia, Elmohamady.
Referee: Peter Bankes (Merseyside)
Things on a bit of a knife-edge at Anfield, with VAR playing its part.
Burnley’s star man will be in action this afternoon, and he spoke to Paul Wilson.
Preamble
Can Frank Lampard’s Chelsea stop the rot? Can Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester keep winning? Those are the key, obvious questions of this Saturday afternoon after Liverpool’s game with Watford is completed.
Chelsea v Bournemouth
Neither team is in particularly good nick at the moment, with Bournemouth on a horrible run, having lost their five matches since beating Manchester United on November 2. Frank’s men have slowed up, having been Big Dunk-ed by Everton; they have won just one of their last five league matches.
Sheffield United v Aston Villa
Two promoted teams from last season have had converging campaigns. Blades have been the surprise package, and are yet to be worked out in the Premier League. Aston Villa, in 18th, struggle badly for goals, and have won just one of their last six matches. Much relies on the individual talent of Jack Grealish while Chris Wilder’s team operate as a unit. Having said that, last week’s defeat of Norwich was a first win in five.
Leicester v Norwich
A team that cannot stop scoring goals against another that cannot stop conceding, a 0-0 is almost guaranteed, though Jamie Vardy is looking to make it nine matches in a row in which he has scored. Norwich are second-bottom, Leicester are top and anything but a home win would be a surprise.
Burnley v Newcastle
One for the purists, almost certainly. Burnley are on a poor run, having lost their last three and having been dismantled last week by Tottenham. A Sean Dyche rocket has surely been launched in the Lancashire area. That defending for Son Heung-min’s goal was horrendous. Meanwhile, Newcastle are defying expectation and xG, and are in 11th.
All that and the latest news from the EFL, in which Leeds v Cardiff is the pick of the day. League Two leaders Wycombe host Burton, and in League Two, it’s Swindon v Oldham in which Eoin Doyle looks to add to his huge total of 18 goals so far this season.
