That’s all from me. Here’s Rob Smyth on Aston Villa v Chelsea. Bye!
And finally, Jacob Steinberg was at the London Stadium:
West Ham’s challenge for a place in the top four is in danger of falling apart. After defying expectations for so long, David Moyes’s side can barely do anything right at the moment. They have become too easy to play against and their need for defensive reinforcements to arrive in January could scarcely have been more glaring during this shoddy defeat to Southampton, who ruthlessly exposed their weaknesses without Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna holding everything together at the back.
Those injuries to Zouma and Ogbonna have taken a heavy toll. The harsh reality is that a central-defensive pairing of Issa Diop and Craig Dawson will not be enough for West Ham to qualify for the Champions League. The balance of the team has disappeared and although Moyes’s side twice dragged themselves level in the second half here, they could have no complaints when Jan Bednarek headed Southampton into the lead for the third and final time with 20 minutes left.
Much more here:
Here’s a report on Arsenal’s festive canter at Carrow Road:
David Hytner was at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:
Crystal Palace did not want to play here, as they struggled to control a Covid outbreak that hit the manager, Patrick Vieira, and a number of players, and they wanted it to end from the moment Wilfried Zaha caught the collective mood of frustration and got himself sent off.
There were 37 minutes on the clock, Tottenham were 2-0 up and Zaha let his team down when he grappled with Davinson Sánchez before hurling his opponent to the ground. The club’s marquee name was already on a booking and Palace were en route to extending a worrying run of results. It is now just one win in seven Premier League games.
It was Tottenham’s day and, more specifically, it was that of Lucas Moura. The winger menaced Palace with his speed and direct running and he would finish with assists for Harry Kane and Son Heung-min – either side of a goal he scored himself.
Much more here:
Jamie Jackson has filed his match report from the Etihad Stadium:
Manchester City were ruthless, fell asleep, and then awoke to end finally a Leicester resistance that came in a sparkling second-half riposte to the champions, who were 4-0 up at the break. Yet the story might have ended differently if Brendan Rodgers’ men had been as ruthless as City.
When James Maddison slipped in Kelechi Iheanacho on 70 minutes, the Nigerian was stopped by a defiant Ederson from moving the visitors to only 5-4 behind and Marc Albrighton later spurned a headed chance to do the same. If either opening had been taken, who knows what the closing phase might have thrown up.
Pep Guardiola, then, is bound to hate a slipshod passage from City while surely marvelling at the opening 45 minutes. The bottom line is the champions have 17 goals in their past three games and remain leaders after completing half their 38 Premier League matches, having won their last nine.
Much more here:
Osian Roberts, Crystal Palace’s assistant manager, has a chat:
I thought we started very well and had a good foothold in the game, but those five minutes, I think 32 to 37, the two goals and the red card changes the game. It’s always a difficult place to come, we knew it was going to be a difficult game with 11 men on the field. It made it difficult for us, and even though we tried to be compact and hopefully try to get something on the break, but it was difficult for us after that.
Antonio Conte is pleased, but is also already talking about Tuesday’s trip to Southampton.
Three important points. I think we started a bit slow, but then we get the chances to score, then we scored, then to play against 10 men was easier for us. It’s good to create chances to score and to score three goals was positive for our strikers. A lot of positive things after this game. For us, it was an important exam.
Here’s your full classified results check. Only eight teams played and failed to score, and none of them played each other.
Premier League
Man City 6-3 Leicester
Norwich 0-5 Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Crystal Palace
West Ham 2-3 Southampton
Championship
Huddersfield 3-2 Blackpool (latest score)
Middlesbrough 2-0 Nottm Forest
League One
Accrington Stanley 1-0 Rotherham
Cheltenham 0-2 Plymouth
Fleetwood Town 0-3 Shrewsbury
Lincoln City 2-3 Milton Keynes Dons
League Two
Mansfield 3-2 Hartlepool Oldham 1-3 Scunthorpe
Tranmere 2-0 Barrow
Scottish Premiership
Aberdeen 2-1 Dundee
Dundee Utd 1-3 Hibernian
Hearts 2-1 Ross County
Motherwell 2-1 Livingston
Rangers 2-0 St Mirren
St Johnstone 1-3 Celtic (12.30pm)
Final score: West Ham 2-3 Southampton
The final whistle blows at West Ham, where Southampton have pocketed all the points!
Final score: Oldham 1-3 Scunthorpe
It’s all over at Boundary Park, and the game ends with Oldham three points clear at the bottom of the Football League.
⚽️ FULL TIME
— Scunthorpe United FC (@SUFCOfficial) December 26, 2021
VICTORY AT BOUNDARY PARK! A clinical second half display saw the Iron overturn a one-goal deficit through a brace from Ryan Loft and a strike from Myles Hippolyte.
(OLDHAM 1-3 IRON) #UTI #IRON pic.twitter.com/PLJj0aaU34
90+4 mins: They’re playing six minutes of stoppage time at West Ham, where Southampton lead by one.
Final scores: Tottenham 3-0 Crystal Palace, Norwich 0-5 Arsenal, Manchester City 6-3 Leicester
Just the 17 goals in these three games. Boxing Day football delivers once again.
GOAL! Norwich 0-5 Arsenal (Smith-Rowe, 90+2 mins)
A long VAR check for offside after Smith-Rowe turns in the loose ball from Pepe’s deflected shot, but the goal is eventually confirmed!
90+2 mins: Before today Manchester City had only conceded nine goals all season. Today they’ve shipped three and still won by three.
6-3's in the Premier League era:
— Mr. Numbers (@Mister_Numbers) December 26, 2021
2013 | City beat Arsenal
2014 | Liverpool beat Cardiff
2014 | Chelsea beat Everton
2017 | Everton beat Bournemouth
GOAL! Manchester City 6-3 Leicester (Sterling, 87 mins)
Another corner, another goal for Manchester City! Ruben Dias miscues his header but it drops to Sterling, who can’t miss!
Updated
86 mins: Lucas Moura has missed two excellent volleyed chances in the last few minutes. The last one would have been much better left for Reguilon, who was coming in at the far post.
GOAL! Norwich 0-4 Arsenal (Lacazette penalty, 84 mins)
Ozan Kabak trips Lacazette in the box and the Frenchman gets up and sends the keeper the wrong way before sidefooting into the bottom right corner.
Updated
82 mins: Worth noting this, I think. Stockport are 4-1 up against Altrincham in the big derby in the National League, and a 9,000 attendance in the fifth flight is remarkable.
Stockport County record their highest league attendance at Edgeley Park (8,896) since playing Leeds United in December 2008
— Thomas Feaheny (@ThomasFeaheny) December 26, 2021
81 mins: Sergio Reguilon has just executed a nutmeg described by my son as “Messi-like filth”.
79 mins: I have some team news for tonight’s late Premier League game:
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett, Sanson, Douglas Luiz, Jacob Ramsey, Buendia, Watkins, Ings. Subs: Steer, Traore, Tuanzebe, Trezeguet, El Ghazi, Hause, Carney Chukwuemeka, Davis, Iroegbunam.
Chelsea: Mendy, Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, James, Kante, Jorginho, Alonso, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Pulisic. Subs: Arrizabalaga, Christensen, Kovacic, Lukaku, Saul, Barkley, Ziyech, Azpilicueta, Sarr.
Referee: Martin Atkinson.
GOAL! Oldham 1-3 Scunthorpe (Loft, 77 mins)
And that (probably) decides it! Loft’s second of the game sends the away fans through the roof!
GOAL! Oldham 1-2 Scunthorpe (Hippolyte, 74 mins)
Iron have turned it around in the big one at Oldham!
⌚️ 75’ GET IN! The Iron turn the scoreline around with Loft feeding a ball through to Hippolyte, who turns and finds himself in acres of space before drilling the ball through Leutwiler’s legs.
— Scunthorpe United FC (@SUFCOfficial) December 26, 2021
(OLDHAM 1-2 IRON) #UTI #IRON https://t.co/dsYFoJfiEr
75 mins: Only four Premier League games, but they’re scoring for eight.
GOAL! Tottenham 3-0 Crystal Palace (Son, 74 mins)
Moura crosses from the right, and Son touches past the keeper at the near post!
Updated
74 mins: Great chance for Spurs: Skipp chips the ball into the area and Reguilon touches it back across goal, but Son can’t make contact.
“Excellent VARing at the London Stadium,” reports Gary Naylor. “Initial contact from Dawson but play on and then he falls into Broja. Ref had a look at the monitor and got it right.” That message was sent six minutes and three goals ago.
GOAL! West Ham 2-3 Southampton (Bednarek, 70 mins)
This has to stop! A free-kick from the left is sent into the area by Ward-Prowse, and Bednarek scores with an excellent header!
GOAL! Manchester City 5-3 Leicester (Laporte, 69 mins)
Stop it already! Mahrez, I think, takes a corner from the right, and Laporte sends a header looping inside an unguarded post!
Updated
GOAL! Norwich 0-3 Arsenal (Saka, 67 mins)
That’s nice work from Saka, who scores with a left-footed curler from the right-hand corner of the area!
Updated
GOAL! Manchester City 4-3 Leicester (Ihenacho, 65 mins)
Unbelievable scenes! Maddison’s shot is saved by Ederson, loops onto the bar, and drops for Iheanacho to score!
GOAL! West Ham 2-2 Southampton (Benrahma, 64 mins)
A swift equaliser, Bowen passing infield to Benrahma, who scores with style!
Updated
63 mins: Spurs have taken Kane off, and brought Bergwijn on.
GOAL! West Ham 1-2 Southampton (Ward-Prowse penalty, 61 mins)
Dawson falls into Broja’s legs as both run into the penalty area and the referee points to the spot. Ward-Prowse converts, shooting low to his left and even though the keeper goes the right way, he can’t stop it!
Updated
61 mins: Martinelli has the ball in the Carrow Road net, but it’s disallowed for offside.
GOAL! Manchester City 4-2 Leicester (Lookman, 59 mins)
Manchester City win a free-kick, midway through Leicester’s half. They play it backwards, knock it about a bit, and then lose it and the Foxes break, Maddison to Iheanacho to Lookman, who finishes smartly!
Updated
GOAL! Manchester City 4-1 Leicester (Maddison, 55 mins)
The comeback is on! Leicester just get past the City press, and after passing between defenders for an age they suddenly spring fotward, Laporte dives in on halfway to leave the goal exposed, and Iheanacho passes for Maddison to pass in!
Updated
GOAL! Oldham 1-1 Scunthorpe (Loft, 51 mins)
Ryan Loft’s shot takes an apparently massive deflection on its way in, and it’s all level in the game between the Football League’s bottom two sides.
GOAL! West Ham 1-1 Southampton (Antonio, 48 mins)
Michail Antonio comes on for Nikola Vlasic at half-time, and within three minutes he equalises for West Ham!
Updated
46 mins: Back out, and back on at Tottenham.
Rick Harris is not happy. “I’m watching the Spurs v Palace game and in my opinion Jon Moss has totally lost the plot,” he rages. “Seems to be whistling for fouls against Palace every time one of their players makes a challenge. Gave an incredible soft yellow card against Zaha who barely touched Davidson Sanchez who threw himself theatrically to the ground, then ignored a foul from Skipp minutes when he pulled Ayew to the ground when the latter was otherwise free. Now he’s sent Zaha off for admittedly a silly shove against you guessed it, Sanchez. How much longer is Moss going to be allowed to pollute the game?”
Zaha’s first yellow card was a little harsh. If a player is tripped from behind it’s always a booking, and though the contact was a lot less significant than the Spurs player’s reaction would suggest, there must have been some or Sanchez wouldn’t have known that it was a useful moment to fling himself to the ground in mock agony.
Half time!
The first halves have finished, and here are the key scores in the key matches:
Manchester City 4-0 Leicester City
Norwich 0-2 Arsenal
Tottenham 2-0 Crystal Palace
West Ham 0-1 Southampton
Oldham 1-0 Scunthorpe
Updated
45+2 mins: Palace’s James Tomkins gets booked, with the away side dangerously close to losing all composure.
GOAL! Norwich 0-2 Arsenal (Tierney, 45 mins)
Arsenal double their lead in Norfolk. Another Odegaard assist, and a fine finish.
Updated
43 mins: Make up your own minds. I don’t think the referee had to book him for this, but it’s pretty hard to complain that he did.
A moment of madness from Wilfried Zaha 😤
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 26, 2021
He receives his second yellow card for this shove on Davinson Sánchez! 🟥
From bad to worse for Crystal Palace... pic.twitter.com/sP6whMwezo
5 - Wilfried Zaha has been sent off five times in all competitions for Crystal Palace, at least three more than any other player for the club since his debut in 2010, while he's the first player to receive a Premier League red card on Boxing Day for the Eagles. Mist. pic.twitter.com/JiLlevvBr6
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 26, 2021
Red card! Wilf Zaha gets his marching orders!
38 mins: A second yellow card for Zaha. It seems an innocuous moment, out by the touchline, but for little obvious reason he shoves Davinson Sanchez in the chest. The crowd bays for blood, and the referee reacts. Jermaine Jenas thinks that wasn’t a yellow card, but in my opinion it was indefensible behaviour for an experienced player on a booking.
36 mins: Harry Kane is now level with Robbie Fowler on the list of the Premier League’s all-time Boxing Day goalscorers. He has never failed to score on Boxing Day.
🎄 - Most Boxing Day Premier League goals
— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) December 26, 2021
9 - @HKane (+1)
9 - Robbie Fowler
8 - Robbie Keane
8 - Alan Shearer#COYS #EPL
GOAL! Tottenham 2-0 Crystal Palace (Moura, 34 mins)
Royal crosses from the right and Lucas Moura attacks it, flattens Joachim Andersen on his way, and heads in from four yards!
Updated
33 mins: Mitchell just took a fateful couple of steps away from Moura and towards the ball, and that was enough to give the Brazilian acres of clear pitch to run into
GOAL! Tottenham 1-0 Crystal Palace (Kane, 32 mins)
The breakthrough! Moura is played down the right, sprints onto the ball, plays a first-time pass infield, and Butland can’t keep out his first-time shot!
Updated
In the big game in League Two, the stats aren’t making good reading for Oldham - Scunthorpe have had 58% of possession, and seven shots to the home side’s three - but the Latics’ only effort on target has gone in. It’s 1-0 there.
GOAL! Manchester City 4-0 Leicester (Sterling penalty, 25 mins)
Just over a quarter of the game played, and Leicester are four down! Sterling sends the spot-kick into the top right corner, giving Schmeichel no chance.
Updated
24 mins: Another Manchester City penalty, after Sterling is brought down in the box. Tielemans is again the player punished.
25 mins: Chance for Spurs! Reguilon’s cross is glanced wide by Moura at the near post.
Leicester have actually had more shots than Manchester City, but the home side have a 100% shot-on-target-to-goal conversion rate.
GOAL! Manchester City 3-0 Leicester (Gundogan, 21 mins)
City are not messing about. They get down the right, and Cancelo’s low cross is pushed by Schmeichel straight to the feet of Gundogan, who sidefoots in!
Updated
18 mins: End to end stuff still at White Hart Lane, but without real moments of quality in the two penalty areas. Son has just hit a completely useless cross from the left flank.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-0 Leicester (Mahrez penalty, 14 mins)
VAR spots a Tielemans infringement inside the penalty area, and Mahrez scores from the penalty!
Updated
14 mins: Moura roars towards the edge of the Palace area before shooting into the nearest defender. This game looks desperate to cough up a goal.
11 mins: At White Hart Lane Tanganga has a poor shot from a poor position, but it hits a defender and deflects to Skipp who from a much better position shoots wide.
GOAL! West Ham 0-1 Southampton (Elyounoussi, 8 mins)
Less than 10 minutes in and every Premier League game except the one that’s on the telly has now featured a goal. Elyounoussi has put Southampton ahead from the edge of the area.
Updated
GOAL! Norwich 0-1 Arsenal (Saka, 6 mins)
Norwich are losing. So far at home this season they have spent 11 minutes in the lead, and 265 (and counting) behind.
Updated
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Leicester (De Bruyne, 5 mins)
Manchester City take the lead against Leicester with a De Bruyne curler/rifled left-footer (depending on whose report you believe)
Updated
3 mins: Another 90 seconds later we have our first save, Jack Butland turning Son’s low left-footer round the post! This is all very promising indeed.
1 min: Palace take just 45 seconds to create a chance, Edouard touching Hughes’s cross back to Ayew, who blazes over.
1 min: Peeeeeep! Palace get the game started!
Out come the players! Spurs are led by Hugo Lloris, who has turned 35 today.
🏆 Happy birthday to a #WorldCup-winning captain! 🥇
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 26, 2021
🇫🇷 Have a great day, Hugo Lloris 🎂#HBD | @FrenchTeam | @SpursOfficial pic.twitter.com/lGepVvLNx1
Antonio Conte talks to BT Sport. He’s asked if he ever thought today’s game would be postponed, and doesn’t really answer, saying only that they prepared professionally. It looks like 3-4-3 for his side today, with five changes:
I think that this is a busy period and for this reason we need to make rotations but at the same time we have to find in every game the right balance. Today three points would be very important for us.
Spurs are wearing their third kit for their warm-ups today in the hope that they can flog a few more to support the homelessness charity Shelter.
⚪️ We're warming up in our Third Kit today as part of @Shelter's #NoHomeKit campaign!
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 26, 2021
Show off your own alternative kit using the hashtag #NoHomeKit 📸 pic.twitter.com/jl60fCjc8R
Osian Roberts, Palace’s assistant manager - Patrick Vieira is one of their actual absentees - has a chat. Benteke, Olise, Eze, Clyne, Guaita and Milivojevic are not involved today, for a variety of reasons:
It’s been challenging. Patrick is OK. I’ve spoken to him many times this morning. Now we’re here we’re getting on with it. There’s a combination of injuries, covid and some returning from covid and not able to participate in this game, but we’ve been preparing all week, the gameplan is the same and we’re looking forward to the game. We’re ready to play, and it’s an important game for us.
Crystal Palace: We’re suffering from a terrible covid outbreak, you have to postpone our game!
Also Crystal Palace: Just the one change, Andersen coming in for Guehi, and even Guehi is on the bench.
Premier League team news!
Here are all the Premier League teams:
Manchester City v Leicester
Man City: Ederson, Joao Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko, Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Mahrez, De Bruyne, Sterling. Subs: Ake, Gabriel Jesus, Grealish, Steffen, Carson, Foden, Mbete-Tabu, Palmer, Kayky.
Leicester: Schmeichel, Albrighton, Amartey, Vestergaard, Thomas, Dewsbury-Hall, Tielemans, Maddison, Perez, Iheanacho, Lookman. Subs: Bertrand, Vardy, Choudhury, Ndidi, Castagne, Jakupovic, Soumare, Nelson, McAteer.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh.
Norwich v Arsenal
Norwich: Gunn, Aarons, Kabak, Gibson, Williams, Dowell, Gilmour, McLean, Placheta, Pukki, Sargent. Subs: Byram, Cantwell, Tzolis, Lees-Melou, Mumba, Giannoulis, McGovern, Idah.
Arsenal: Ramsdale, White, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney, Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli, Lacazette. Subs: Patino, Leno, Smith Rowe, Pepe, Tavares, Pablo Mari, Sambi Lokonga, Elneny, Nketiah.
Referee: Graham Scott
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Sanchez, Dier, Tanganga, Emerson, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Reguilon, Lucas Moura, Son, Kane. Subs: Doherty, Winks, Gil Salvatierra, Rodon, Alli, Gollini, Bergwijn, Ndombele, Davies.
Crystal Palace: Butland, Ward, Andersen, Tomkins, Mitchell, Gallagher, Kouyate, Hughes, Ayew, Edouard, Zaha. Subs: Guehi, Mateta, Schlupp, Matthews, Kelly, Ferguson, Riedewald.
Referee: Jonathan Moss
West Ham v Southampton
West Ham: Fabianski, Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Masuaku, Soucek, Rice, Vlasic, Fornals, Benrahma, Bowen. Subs: Yarmolenko, Antonio, Lanzini, Areola, Noble, Fredericks, Johnson, Kral, Ashby.
Southampton: Forster, Livramento, Bednarek, Salisu, Walker-Peters, Elyounoussi, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Redmond, Walcott, Broja. Subs: Long, Adam Armstrong, Adams, Caballero, Perraud, Stuart Armstrong, Diallo, Valery, Simeu.
Referee: Kevin Friend.
News from Scotland: Dave mackay is 40 years of age.
The club have registered Assistant Manager Dave Mackay as a player.
— Dundee Football Club (@DundeeFC) December 26, 2021
Dave will be on the bench this afternoon #thedee pic.twitter.com/9kmGA9Kk9n
Hello world!
Merry festivities to everybody! It’s a time for giving, and many of the nation’s footballers have been given the day off as the covid crisis hits. It leaves us with four 3pm kick-offs in each of England’s top three divisions, and only three in the fourth. In the Championship Blackburn will go second if they win, and first if they beat Hull by, ahem, 18 or more goals. Nottingham Forest will vault into the top six if they avoid defeat at Middlesbrough, though they have already played a game more than Stoke and two more than QPR, neither of whom are in action (QPR are scheduled to play Bournemouth tomorrow). In League One leaders Rotherham are the only top-four team to play, and could have a five-point lead this evening if they win at Accringston Stanley. Plymouth will go second if they win by three at Cheltenham. League Two’s three surviving fixtures include the absolutely massive bottom-of-the-table six-pointer between Oldham and Scunthorpe; the Iron are bottom on goal difference, Oldham have the worse form, and no game today looks more important.
Premier League
Aston Villa v Chelsea (5.30pm)
Brighton v Brentford (8pm) Burnley v Everton
Liverpool v Leeds (12.30pm)
Man City v Leicester
Norwich v Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace
West Ham v Southampton Wolverhampton v Watford (12.30pm)
Championship
Barnsley v Stoke Cardiff v Coventry Fulham v Birmingham
Huddersfield v Blackpool
Hull v Blackburn
Luton v Bristol City
Middlesbrough v Nottm Forest Millwall v Swansea Peterborough v Reading Preston North End v Sheff Utd
League One
AFC Wimbledon v Charlton
Accrington Stanley v Rotherham Bolton v Morecambe
Cheltenham v Plymouth Crewe v Wigan
Fleetwood Town v Shrewsbury Gillingham v Ipswich
Lincoln City v Milton Keynes Dons Portsmouth v Oxford Utd Sheff Wed v Burton Albion Wycombe v Cambridge Utd
League Two
Bradford v Harrogate Town Mansfield v Hartlepool
Bristol Rovers v Sutton Utd
Carlisle v Rochdale
Colchester v Leyton Orient
Exeter v Swindon
Newport County v Forest Green Oldham v Scunthorpe
Northampton v Walsall
Port Vale v Salford City Tranmere v Barrow
Stevenage v Crawley Town
Scottish Premiership
Aberdeen v Dundee
Dundee Utd v Hibernian
Hearts v Ross County
Motherwell v Livingston
Rangers v St Mirren
St Johnstone v Celtic (12.30pm)
