That’s it for today’s Clocko. We’ll have match reports galore on the site shortly, and you can also follow Crystal Palace v Chelsea with Simon Burnton. Oh, and I’ll be back later for El Clasico. Bye!
Peep peep! The 3pm games are over, and these are the scores in all our featured games.
Premier League
- Manchester City 1-2 Leeds
- Liverpool 2-1 Aston Villa
Bundesliga
- Bayern Munich 1-1 Union Berlin
- Werder Bremen 1-4 RB Leipzig
Championship
- Millwall 0-3 Swansea
- Derby 0-1 Norwich
- Preston 0-5 Brentford
League One
- Plymouth 0-3 Hull
League Two
- Cambridge 1-4 Exeter
Full time: Liverpool 2-1 Aston Villa
Peep peep! Liverpool jump to fourth after winning at Anfield for the first time since mid-December.
Full time: Derby 0-1 Norwich
Kieran Dowell’s classy free-kick means Norwich are one win away from clinching promotion.
Full time: Preston 0-5 Brentford
Brentford end a run of four straight draws with a spectacular victory.
Full time: Cambridge 1-4 Exeter
A dreadful day for Cambridge, who have lost their place at the top of League Two to Cheltenham.
GOAL! Preston 0-5 Brentford (Marcondes 90+1)
Five for Brentford!
Half time: Strasbourg 0-3 PSG Moise Kean has scored a third for PSG just before half-time. It’s safe to assume they will win that game. Or, to put it another way, there’s no chance I’m handing around after 5.15pm.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-1 Aston Villa (Alexander-Arnold 90+1)
Trent Alexander-Arnold has given Liverpool the lead in injury-time! It was a beautiful goal, flashed into the far corner from the edge of the area.
Updated
Liverpool 1-1 Aston Villa Liverpool are running out of time at Anfield, with only one minute of normal time remaining. But they are at least on course to end their run of six straight league defeats at home.
A couple of 6-0 scorelines worth mentioning: Celtic 6-0 Livingston in the Scottish Premiership, and Crewe 0-6 Oxford in League One.
GOAL! Cambridge 1-4 Exeter (Jay 80)
Matt Jay has made it four for Exeter at the Abbey Stadium. That is quite a result.
GOAL! Preston 0-4 Brentford (Canos 82)
The substitute Sergi Canos completes a superb afternoon’s work for Brentford, whose switch to a back three has been a triumph.
Apropos not much, I wonder what VAR would make of this
Just hand over the award, now ... #Souness #LFC #Rangers pic.twitter.com/9GmZk5ydRY
— Stewart Weir (@sweirz) September 11, 2020
Liverpool 1-1 Aston Villa An interesting incident at Anfield. Trent Alexander-Arnold kicks the bottom of Trezeguet’s foot in the Liverpool area. Trezeguet stays on his feet, and VAR decides it wasn’t a penalty. Had he gone down, that might have been given. It’s such a mess.
Updated
GOAL! Preston 0-3 Brentford (Toney 75)
Tariqe Fosu beats his man with multiple stepovers and stands up a lovely cross that is headed in by Ivan Toney. Brentford’s winless run is surely over.
GOAL! Plymouth 0-3 Hull (Docherty 74)
Hull’s day just got even better: Greg Docherty has put them three goals ahead at Plymouth.
“Dundee United still leading at Hamilton thanks to Marc McNulty’s early goal,” reports Simon McMahon. “Celtic have put five past Livingston and it’s finely poised at 2-2 between Kilmarnock and Ross County. A late goal flurry is required at Station Park before the classified check as it’s currently Forfar 1 East Fife 2.”
Give it time.
These are the latest scores in our featured games, with roughly 20 minutes remainingin the 3pm kick-offs.
Premier League
- Manchester City 1-2 Leeds (FT)
- Liverpool 1-1 Aston Villa
Bundesliga
- Bayern Munich 1-1 Union Berlin (FT)
- Werder Bremen 1-4 RB Leipzig (FT)
Championship
- Millwall 0-3 Swansea (FT)
- Derby 0-1 Norwich
- Preston 0-2 Brentford
League One
- Plymouth 0-2 Hull
League Two
- Cambridge 1-3 Exeter
Ligue 1: Strasbourg 0-2 PSG
PSG are off to a flyer in their match at Strasbourg. The ludicrous Kylian Mbappe and Pablo Sarabia have put them two up after half an hour.
GOAL! Cambridge 1-3 Exeter (Collins 67)
Exeter have restored their two-goal lead away to the League Two leaders Cambridge, although they won’t be top of the table at 5pm if results stay as they are. Archie Collins scored from close range after very good work from Matt Jay.
Updated
Thanks to Bruce Jackson for pointing out that snow stopped play for the best part of an hour at Port Vale. The game resumed a few minutes ago, and Nathan Smith has put the home side 1-0 up against Morecambe.
⏱️ | 28'
— Port Vale FC (@OfficialPVFC) April 10, 2021
Following a 45-minute break due to excessive snowfall, play resumes with a clear pitch and no snow in sight!
⚫️⚪️ 0-0 🔴⚪️ #PVFCLive pic.twitter.com/G7JBfyQzIQ
Liverpool 1-1 Aston Villa Trezeguet has hit the inside of the post with a terrific effort, flicked extravagantly with the outside of his right foot. It might not have counted, though, as Watkins looked offside in the build up.
Full times: Bayern 1-1 Union Berlin, Werder Bremen 1-4 RB Leipzig.
Peep peep! Two dropped points for Bayern, though it’s not a terrible result given how many first-choice players they were missing. They are now five points above Leipzig, who hammered Werder Bremen.
GOAL! Plymouth 0-2 Hull (Magennis 58)
Josh Magennis has grabbed a second goal for the League One leaders Hull. This is turning into a very good day for them, because third-placed Sunderland are losing 2-0 at home to Charlton. As things stand Hull have an eight-point promotion cushion, though Sunderland have two games in hand.
Updated
GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Aston Villa (Salah 57)
Liverpool have scored a goal, and not even VAR can stop this one! Andy Robertson’s fierce shot was pushed away by Emi Martinez, diving to his left, but Mo Salah reacted smartly to beat Mings to the rebound and head the ball into the empty net.
GOAL! Cambridge 1-2 Exeter (Ironside 55)
Cambridge are back in the game thanks to Joe Ironside, who finished from close range after an excellent cross by Hiram Boateng.
Updated
GOAL! Bayern 1-1 Union Berlin (Ingvartsen 86)
Marcus Ingvartsen has breathed a bit of life into the Bundesliga title race!
“Afternoon Rob,” says Stephen Carr. “Bewilderment and me have always been comfortable bedfellows but I cannot wrap my head around why we need VAR to decide whether that was offside or not. I accept offside is a law of absolutes but nonetheless, what overall benefit does reducing it to such fine margins bring?”
We’ve not heard the last of this either
Silence from those inside @CelticFC Park before @LiviFCOfficial game to mark death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh but some sort of fireworks outside pic.twitter.com/UegIqZiROx
— Ronnie Esplin (@RonnieEsplin) April 10, 2021
“There’s an issue with these VAR offsides that I’ve not heard talked about,” says Kevin Holloway. “The offsides are being measured to the fraction of an inch, but we don’t know within a fraction of a second/inch when the ball was released from the passing players foot. The ball on the VAR screen is a blob that lasts for a period of time, during which a player’s armpit or finger nail moves some distance. There is no point VAR pretending it can be so accurate at the end point when it can’t be so accurate when the ball is played. I’m in despair.”
I’ve heard this mentioned a few times and completely agree. It’s another reason why they should have the equivalent of umpire’s call in cricket, or, better still, put the entire sorry mess back in its box.
Updated
GOAL! Bayern 1-0 Union Berlin (Musiala 68)
... Jamal Musiala has scored a fine solo goal to give Bayern the lead.
GOAL! Bremen 1-4 Leipzig (Sabitzer 63)
But more importantly...
Half time
Peep peep! It’s half time in the 3pm games, so I’m off to grab a coffee and try to make sense of that disallowed goal. These are the latest scores in our featured games. It’s a good day to play away:
Premier League
- Manchester City 1-2 Leeds (FT)
- Liverpool 0-1 Aston Villa
Bundesliga
- Bayern Munich 0-0 Union Berlin (2.30pm)
- Werder Bremen 1-3 RB Leipzig (2.30pm)
Championship
- Millwall 0-3 Swansea (FT)
- Derby 0-1 Norwich
- Preston 0-2 Brentford
League One
- Plymouth 0-1 Hull
League Two
- Cambridge 0-2 Exeter
GOAL! Bremen 1-3 Leipzig (Rashica 61 pen)
One back for Bremen.
There were two parts to that decision: whether Jota was offside, and whether Matty Cash touched the ball, thus invalidating any potential offside. I’m not sure about the latter, but to the naked eye Jota looked onside. VAR’s geometry department disagreed. Even Dean Smith looks baffled by that, never mind Jurgen Klopp.
NON-GOAL! Liverpool 0-1 Aston Villa
Liverpool have had a goal disallowed by VAR in extremely controversial circumstances. Roberto Firmino seemed to have equalised with an exquisite finish, lifting the ball over two defenders and the keeper from six yards, but VAR decided there was an offside against Diogo Jota in the build up. Hmm.
Updated
GOAL! Liverpool 0-1 Aston Villa (Watkins 43)
Villa have stolen the lead! John McGinn played a short pass through to Ollie Watkins, who controlled it under pressure from Kabak and belted a left-footed shot through Alisson from 15 yards. That’s not great goalkeeping.
Updated
Liverpool 0-0 Aston Villa Liverpool’s long run without a first-half goal at Anfield looks set to continue. It’s been a pretty quiet game, though Salah, Jota and Konsa have all had good chances.
Liverpool 0-0 Aston Villa Liverpool should be ahead. Diogo Jota has just missed an excellent chance, heading onto the roof of the net from a wrongly awarded corner.
GOAL! Preston 0-2 Brentford (Forss 26)
Brentford’s tactical change is working a treat; Marcus Forss has put them 2-0 up with a fine goal.
Liverpool 0-0 Aston Villa A bit of concussion-related controversy. Douglas Luiz was about to be replaced by Jacob Ramsey, a decision taken by the team doctor, but argued his case on the touchline and was eventually allowed to stay on. We’ll hear more about that, I’m sure.
“Hi Rob,” says David Wall. “After such a long period when they were untouchable, have City become fallible at just the wrong time in the season? It’s unlikely to make a difference in the league but it could be important in Europe. And most likely that’ll be because Guardiola will get too clever with his tactics and team selection, worried about that fallibility, and it’ll completely backfire on him again.”
I suppose they have regressed towards the merely excellent, but that was inevitable after an unprecedented winning run. I didn’t realise fancy them in Europe even before they started losing the odd game.
Liverpool 0-0 Aston Villa Ezri Konsa has missed a good chance for Villa, heading straight at Alisson from six yards.
GOAL! Derby 0-1 Norwich (Dowell 21)
Kieran Dowell whips a majestic free-kick into the top corner to give Norwich the lead at Pride Park.
Updated
Half times: Bayern Munich 0-0 Union Berlin, Werder Bremen 0-0 RB Leipzig
GOAL! Bremen 0-3 Leipzig (Sorloth 41)
Leipzig are strolling to victory in Bremen. Alexander Sorloth has scored his second goal to put them three up at half-time.
GOAL! Cambridge 0-2 Exeter (Sparkes 15)
Crikey, Cambridge are two down. Jack Sparkes’ long-range shot bounced past the diving Callum Burton, who should probably have done better.
GOAL! Plymouth 0-1 Hull (Lewis-Potter 11)
The League One leaders are ahead at Plymouth. Keane Lewis-Potter scored the goal, sliding confidently into the far corner after good play from Mallik Wilks.
Updated
Liverpool 0-0 Aston Villa Mo Salah has missed a great chance, poking just wide after a comedy error from Tyrone Mings. Emi Martinez did well to narrow the angle but Salah should have scored.
“What’s happened to Allison’s moustache?” wonders Paul Griffin. “I was so inspired by his midweek mouey that I was planning to copycat his 1980s regional senior sales manager vibe, and am on the hunt for a Ford Sierra 1.6 GL (Ocean Blue, with optional extra smoked glass sunroof) to complete the look. But Allison’s lip augmentation had gone. Vanished. It’s a follicular metaphor for the season as a whole and confirms that Klopp has lost both his touch and the dressing room.”
GOAL! Preston 0-1 Brentford (Mbuemo 9)
Bryan Mbuemo has slammed Brentford into an early lead at Deepdale. They are playing a different formation today, 3-4-3 rather than the usual 4-3-3.
The latest scores in our featured games
Premier League
- Manchester City 1-2 Leeds (FT)
- Liverpool 0-0 Aston Villa
Bundesliga
- Bayern Munich 0-0 Union Berlin (2.30pm)
- Werder Bremen 0-2 RB Leipzig (2.30pm)
Championship
- Millwall 0-3 Swansea (FT)
- Derby 0-0 Norwich
- Preston 0-0 Brentford
League One
- Plymouth 0-0 Hull
League Two
- Cambridge 0-1 Exeter
“So, mathematically, Liverpool can’t overtake Man City?” says David Hayhurst. “To quote Jez from Peep Show, Rob, do you have to live so relentlessly in the real world?”
Haha. That’s ripe for a rewatch, the early series certainly.
GOAL! Cambridge 0-1 Exeter (Bowman 3)
An early blow for the League Two leaders Cambridge, who have gone behind to a goal from the prolific Ryan Bowman. It was a precise header, steered off the inside of the post from a flat cross into the area.
Updated
GOAL! Werder Bremen 0-2 Leipzig (Sorloth 33)
Alexander Sorloth has headed Leipzig into a two-goal lead! As things stand they are five points behind Bayern with 10 games to play.
“Afternoon Rob,” writes Simon McMahon. “It’s the first set of post-split fixtures in the Scottish Premier today, the pick of them being Dundee United’s trip to Hamilton, which could have a bearing at both ends of the bottom six. Micky Mellon’s Tangerines could go seventh with a win, while three points for Hamilton would move them off bottom spot, as Kilmarnock and Ross County above them meet each other.
“Other games include Celtic v Livingston, Motherwell v St. Mirren and St. Johnstone v Aberdeen. A mention too for the Classified Check derby in Scottish League One between Forfar and East Fife. Nine-goal thriller, anyone?”
GOAL! Werder Bremen 0-1 Leipzig (Dani Olmo 24)
If Bayern do drop points - and it’s not beyond the realms with the team they’ve picked - Leipzig could close the gap to five or five points. They have taken the lead in Bremen through a brilliant team goal, finished by Dani Olmo.
Updated
Bayern Munich 0-0 Union Berlin Marius Bulter has just missed an excellent chance for Union, heading straight at Manuel Neuer from eight yards.
“Now Leeds have blown the title race Wide Open, Liverpool can start their late-season charge,” says Matt Dony. “Number 20 is on, Rob! It’s going to happen! To borrow a phrase, It’s coming home!”
I hate to puncture this euphoria with hardcore mathematics, but if Liverpool win all their remaining games they will finish on 73 points. City are currently on 74. I suppose they could be deducted a couple for an impromptu brawl, like Arsenal in 1990-91.
Bayern 0-0 Union Berlin A quiet start in Munich, where Bayern have picked a weakened side due to injuries and the proximity of their second leg against PSG.
Cambridge v Exeter team news
Our bad. Hoolahan good but there’s genuinely only one of him!
— Cambridge United FC (@CambridgeUtdFC) April 10, 2021
Hannant on the bench #CamUTD https://t.co/JC9SLTE3JE
📝 Team News: 🆚 @CambridgeUtdFC
— Exeter City (@OfficialECFC) April 10, 2021
📌 @RandellW11 returns to the starting XI
📌 One change from Monday#ECFC #OneGrecianGoal pic.twitter.com/M7grs7olLR
Plymouth v Hull team news
🟢 How Argyle line-up for today's @SkyBetLeagueOne visit of @HullCity 📋#pafc pic.twitter.com/0megIb6rsw
— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Only1Argyle) April 10, 2021
📋 Here’s how the Tigers line-up for #PLYHUL…
— Hull City (@HullCity) April 10, 2021
🟧 Unchanged.
⬛️ Coyle captains the side.#hcafc | #theTigers pic.twitter.com/iVfst5cmqt
Full time: Manchester City 1-2 Leeds United
Peep peep! A glorious win for Leeds, who were down to ten men for more than half the game but stole the points when Stuart Dallas scored in injury-time.
Full time: Millwall 0-3 Swansea
A terrific win for Swansea. Andre Ayew scored a cracker just before half-time, then Jamal Lowe saw his goal and raised it with two jazzers in the second half. Swansea’s win means that Norwich cannot be mathematically promoted today.
Updated
GOAL! Manchester City 1-2 Stuart Dallas (Dallas 90)
Stuart Dallas has put ten-man Leeds in front with his second goal of the game!
Preston v Brentford team news
Preston (3-5-2) Iversen; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; van den Berg, Ledson, Whiteman, Potts Barkhuizen; Riis, Evans.
Substitutes: Hudson, Huntington, Molumby, Browne, Bayliss, Sincair, Gordon, Bodin, Moult.
Brentford (possible 4-3-3) Martin; Roerslev, Jansson, Pinnock, Mbuemo; Janelt, Norgaard, Jensen; Fosu, Toney, Forss.
Substitutes: Daniels, Goode, Canos, Marcondes, Ghoddos, Reid, Sorensen, Stevens, Bidstrup.
Updated
GOAL! Millwall 0-3 Swansea (Lowe 85)
Swansea are having a day out in London. Jamal Lowe has scored another outstanding goal. He dragged his studs over the ball to take it away from Jake Cooper, turned in one smooth movement and leathered it into the roof of the net.
Derby v Norwich team news
Derby County (4-2-3-1) Marshall; McDonald, Wisdom, Mengi, Forsyth; Bird, Shinnie; Roberts, Lawrence, Jozwiak; Kazim-Richards.
Substitutes: Roos, Buchanan, Ebosele, Baningime, Knight, Watson, Shonibare, Sibley, Cresswell.
Norwich City (4-2-3-1) Krul; Aarons, Hanley, Omabamidele, Giannoulis; Skipp, McLean; Buendia, Dowell, Cantwell; Pukki.
Substitutes: Nyland, Mumba, Sorensen, Tettey, Vrancic, Hernandez, Placheta, Stiepermann, Hugill.
GOAL! Man City 1-1 Leeds (Torres 76)
City have finally broken Leeds down. Bernardo Silva - who was seriously close to being offside, although the VAR check was cursory at best - set up Ferran Torres for a cool finish.
Updated
GOAL! Millwall 0-2 Swansea (Lowe 76)
Swnsea are heading for victory in south London. Jamal Lowe has put them 2-0 up with a fine solo goa, running across the line of the Millwall defence and finishing emphatically.
Liverpool v Aston Villa team news
Liverpool (4-3-3) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Kabak, Robertson; Milner, Fabinho, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Jota.
Substitutes: Adrian, Thiago, Keita, Mane, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tsimikas, Shaqiri, Davies, R Williams.
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1) Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Douglas Luiz, Nakamba; Traore, McGinn, Trezeguet; Watkins.
Substitutes: Heaton, El Mohamady, Engels, Hause, Taylor, J Ramsey, Barkley, El Ghazi, Davis.
And promotion-chasing Swansea are still 1-0 up at Millwall with 25 minutes remaining. Andre Ayew scored a cracking in first half injury-time.
Andre Ayew gave Swansea the lead on the stroke of half-time with this wonderful strike.
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) April 10, 2021
Watch the second half live on Sky Sports 📺pic.twitter.com/7zbyrKB4uH
Leeds’ 10 men are hanging on to their 1-0 lead at the Etihad. It all happened just before half-time: Stuart Dallas scored and Liam Cooper was given a straight red, after a VAR check, for a dangerous follow through on Gabriel Jesus.
Werder Bremen v RB Leipzig team news
Werder Bremen (3-4-1-2) Pavlenka; Toprak, Moisander, Friedl; Gebre Selassie, Mbom, Gross, Agu; Sargent; Dinkci, Selke.
Substitutes: Zetterer, Veljkovic, Mohwald, Rashica, Bittencourt, Schmid, Gruev, Erras, Osako.
RB Leipzig (4-2-3-1) Gulacsi; Adams, Orban, Konate, Halstenberg; Kampl, Sabitzer; Nkunku, Dani Olmo, Kluivert; Sorloth.
Substitutes: Tschauner, Angelino, Klostermann, Henrichs, Haidara, Samardzic, Wosz, Forsberg, Hwang.
Bayern Munich v Union Berlin team news
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1) Neuer; Sarr, Martinez, Boateng, Stanisic; Kimmich, Dantas; Musiala, Muller, Coman; Choupo-Moting.
Substitutes: Nubel, Pavard, Sane, Nianzou, Alaba, Vita, Oberlin, Scott.
Union Berlin (4-2-3-1) Luthe; Trimmel, Friedrich, Knoche, Lenz; Andrich, Promel; Endo, Kruse, Bulter; Musa.
Substitutes: Karius, Schlotterbeck, Ryerson, Pohjanpalo, Hubner, Ingvartsen, Griesbeck, Gentner, Teuchert.
Preamble
Good afternoon one, good afternoon all. This has been a season full of ludicrous results, but one game stands out: Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool on 4 October. And it looked even weirder then than it does now. This was before Virgil van Dijk’s injury, before Liverpool’s title challenge had turned into an unfathomable fiasco. Today, the teams meet again at Anfield, and it’s fair to assume Liverpool will be after one or all of the following clichés: revenge, redemption, closure.
But what they really, really need is three points. They are fighting for their Champions League life, both this season and next, and start this match in seventh place. They are five points ahead of Villa, having played a game more. At the same stage last season, there were 57 points between them.
Liverpool v Villa is the highlight of another busy Clockwatch. In the Championship, Norwich could have their promotion confirmed if a few results go their way, and all the play-off contenders are in action. There are also four afternoon games in Germany, including Bayern Munich’s victory over Union Berlin.
These are our featured games, all 3pm kick-offs unless stated:
Premier League
- Manchester City 0-1 Ten-man Leeds (12.30pm)
- Liverpool v Aston Villa
Bundesliga
- Bayern Munich v Union Berlin (2.30pm)
- Werder Bremen v RB Leipzig (2.30pm)
Championship
- Millwall 0-1 Swansea (12.30pm)
- Derby v Norwich
- Preston v Brentford
League One
- Plymouth v Hull
League Two
- Cambridge v Exeter
Updated
