Right, that concludes the action for today’s clockwatch, on a day when Bayern Munich won 4-0 despite being down to ten men from very early on, and Real Madrid moved back into the title race with a win at Celta Vigo.
In the Championship, the race for the playoff positions remains tight, with Reading in sixth after their draw with QPR. Bournemouth didn’t play in the league today as they were losing to Southampton in the FA Cup. And wins for Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham at the bottom spelled looming trouble for Birmingham.
In League One, a late penalty rescued a point for Peterborough in a 3-3 at Rochdale, while the leaders Hull were held by Shrewsbury to end five-game winning run. Sunderland are in third after a draw with Lincoln.
In League Two, the leaders Cheltenham beat Salford 2-0, Cambridge in second beat third-placed Forest Green, and Bolton’s revival continued with 2-1 win over Walsall.
A big day for Watford, who looked all set to land that second spot in the Championship.
All the numbers from another 𝗕𝗜𝗚 win!
— Watford Football Club 💙 (@WatfordFC) March 20, 2021
📊 @Sportsbetio | #WATBIR pic.twitter.com/2bMPBk31FC
Goal! Celta Vigo 1-3 Real Madrid (Asencio, 90+5)
Benzema plays provider, and after a VAR delay, the champions celebrate the goal and a 3-1 win. Real Madrid were made to work for the second half. Benzema was the key man with two goals and an assist. Sevilla play at Valladolid in the late game.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atletico Madrid | 27 | 32 | 63 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 28 | 26 | 60 |
| 3 | Barcelona | 27 | 38 | 59 |
| 4 | Sevilla | 27 | 18 | 54 |
| 5 | Real Sociedad | 27 | 21 | 45 |
League Two final scores
Barrow 3-2 Crawley Town
Bolton 2-1 Walsall
Bradford 0-0 Oldham
Cambridge Utd 1-0 Forest Green
Cheltenham 2-0 Salford City
Colchester 0-1 Port Vale
Harrogate Town 0-1 Morecambe
Mansfield 2-2 Grimsby
Newport County 0-1 Leyton Orient
Scunthorpe 1-1 Southend
Stevenage 3-1 Carlisle
Tranmere 2-1 Exeter
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cheltenham | 36 | 15 | 65 |
| 2 | Cambridge Utd | 37 | 21 | 64 |
| 3 | Forest Green | 35 | 12 | 61 |
| 4 | Tranmere | 35 | 9 | 61 |
| 5 | Bolton | 36 | 4 | 60 |
| 6 | Morecambe | 36 | 2 | 59 |
| 7 | Newport County | 36 | 9 | 57 |
| 8 | Exeter | 34 | 18 | 53 |
| 9 | Salford City | 35 | 12 | 51 |
| 10 | Crawley Town | 35 | 3 | 51 |
| 11 | Carlisle | 33 | 5 | 48 |
| 12 | Bradford | 34 | 0 | 48 |
| 13 | Harrogate Town | 36 | -1 | 48 |
| 14 | Leyton Orient | 35 | 0 | 47 |
| 15 | Stevenage | 37 | -1 | 46 |
| 16 | Mansfield | 36 | -4 | 42 |
| 17 | Oldham | 36 | -9 | 42 |
| 18 | Scunthorpe | 35 | -9 | 42 |
| 19 | Port Vale | 37 | -5 | 41 |
| 20 | Walsall | 35 | -7 | 39 |
| 21 | Barrow | 34 | -2 | 38 |
| 22 | Colchester | 36 | -16 | 38 |
| 23 | Southend | 36 | -28 | 31 |
| 24 | Grimsby | 35 | -28 | 28 |
League One final scores
AFC Wimbledon 2-2 Charlton
Accrington Stanley 3-1 Wigan
Burton Albion 1-2 Milton Keynes Dons
Fleetwood Town 0-2 Swindon
Gillingham 2-2 Doncaster
Northampton 0-1 Crewe
Oxford Utd 0-2 Blackpool
Plymouth 2-0 Bristol Rovers
Portsmouth 2-1 Ipswich
Rochdale 3-3 Peterborough
Shrewsbury 1-1 Hull
Sunderland 1-1 Lincoln City
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hull | 37 | 32 | 69 |
| 2 | Peterborough | 35 | 23 | 66 |
| 3 | Sunderland | 35 | 27 | 64 |
| 4 | Lincoln City | 36 | 16 | 62 |
| 5 | Doncaster | 34 | 9 | 57 |
| 6 | Charlton | 37 | 4 | 56 |
| 7 | Portsmouth | 35 | 13 | 55 |
| 8 | Gillingham | 37 | 4 | 54 |
| 9 | Ipswich | 35 | 2 | 54 |
| 10 | Blackpool | 33 | 10 | 53 |
| 11 | Oxford Utd | 35 | 8 | 53 |
| 12 | Accrington Stanley | 35 | 5 | 53 |
| 13 | Milton Keynes Dons | 37 | 2 | 51 |
| 14 | Crewe | 36 | -2 | 51 |
| 15 | Fleetwood Town | 37 | 9 | 50 |
| 16 | Plymouth | 37 | -11 | 48 |
| 17 | Shrewsbury | 33 | -1 | 43 |
| 18 | Burton Albion | 35 | -14 | 41 |
| 19 | Swindon | 36 | -22 | 34 |
| 20 | Bristol Rovers | 36 | -22 | 34 |
| 21 | Wigan | 36 | -25 | 34 |
| 22 | Northampton | 36 | -22 | 33 |
| 23 | AFC Wimbledon | 35 | -24 | 33 |
| 24 | Rochdale | 36 | -21 | 32 |
Championship final scores
Barnsley 1-2 Sheff Wed
Brentford 1-1 Nottm Forest
Bristol City 0-2 Rotherham
Coventry 0-0 Wycombe
Huddersfield v. AFC Bournemouth
Millwall 1-0 Middlesbrough
Norwich 1-1 Blackburn
Preston North End 0-1 Luton
Reading 1-1 QPR
Stoke 1-0 Derby
Swansea L-L Cardiff
Watford 3-0 Birmingham
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwich | 38 | 29 | 83 |
| 2 | Watford | 38 | 29 | 75 |
| 3 | Swansea | 36 | 17 | 69 |
| 4 | Brentford | 37 | 26 | 68 |
| 5 | Barnsley | 38 | 7 | 64 |
| 6 | Reading | 38 | 11 | 62 |
| 7 | AFC Bournemouth | 37 | 18 | 59 |
| 8 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 7 | 56 |
| 9 | Cardiff | 37 | 17 | 55 |
| 10 | Millwall | 38 | 2 | 52 |
| 11 | Stoke | 38 | 0 | 52 |
| 12 | QPR | 37 | -4 | 50 |
| 13 | Bristol City | 38 | -11 | 49 |
| 14 | Luton | 37 | -11 | 48 |
| 15 | Blackburn | 38 | 8 | 46 |
| 16 | Preston North End | 38 | -9 | 45 |
| 17 | Nottm Forest | 38 | -8 | 42 |
| 18 | Huddersfield | 37 | -11 | 42 |
| 19 | Derby | 38 | -15 | 40 |
| 20 | Coventry | 37 | -16 | 39 |
| 21 | Birmingham | 38 | -22 | 38 |
| 22 | Rotherham | 34 | -9 | 35 |
| 23 | Sheff Wed | 37 | -19 | 32 |
| 24 | Wycombe | 38 | -36 | 27 |
Into the last five minutes in Vigo where Real Madrid are still winning 2-1 after those two Benzema goals.
Full-time: Norwich 1-1 Blackburn
Norwich fail to make it to ten wins in a row for the first time since the 1985-86 season. They finish the day eight points clear of Watford.
Updated
Full-time: Watford 3-0 Birmingham
The better quality of Watford told while Blues look in a lot of trouble. Lee Bowyer will be glad he doesn’t have to face a team as good as that in his team’s fight against relegation.
Drama in League One at Rochdale where Peterborough have made it 3-3, just as they looked to be losing ground on Sunderland....the full-time scores are coming in now.
Into added time at Norwich where both the home team and Blackburn have had chances.
Pukki goes close as Norwich chase a winner against Blackburn. All QPR at Reading who are clinging on to seventh. In League One, none of the top four clubs are winning.
An own-goal from Daniel Iversen after James Collins deflected the ball back has made it 1-0 for Preston at Luton.
Sheffield Wednesday face some wobbles as Barnsley have hit one back through Carlton Morris.
Goal! Watford 3-0 Birmingham (Gray, 80)
André Gray speeds down the right, outpacing the Blues defence, and he smashes the ball under Neil Etheridge, and into the net. The Hornets are, yes, buzzing.
Updated
Stranraer down to ten men at Queen’s Park, not been a good day for the visitors on the Hampden Park send-off.
Goal! Norwich 1-1 Blackburn (Gallagher, 77)
Sam Gallagher heads in at the back post to peg back the league leaders. It had been coming for Blackburn.
Jordan Rhodes scoring twice for Sheffield Wednesday is described by a Dan Brewin as “a miracle”.
Goals in the Championship, where Stoke lead Wayne Rooney’s Derby County 1-0 through a goal from Jacob Brown. Richard Wood’s goal has made it 2-0 to Rotherham at Bristol City. There could be a relegation battle after all.
Updated
Bad news for Sunderland, as Lincoln equalise. The double pepperoni celebration from last week must be weighing heavy.
63' Goal for Lincoln. Callum Morton.
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) March 20, 2021
[1-1] #SAFC I #SUNLIN
At Watford, there’s a plane flypast going. “Dong must go,” it says. That’s a reference to Birmingham’s owners who are very unpopular in Small Heath.
Bundesliga final scores
Werder 1-2 Wolfsburg
Köln 2-2 Dortmund
Bayern 4-0 Stuttgart
Eintracht Frankfurt 5-2 Union Berlin
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 26 | 43 | 61 |
| 2 | RB Leipzig | 26 | 27 | 57 |
| 3 | Wolfsburg | 26 | 23 | 51 |
| 4 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 26 | 17 | 47 |
| 5 | Borussia Dortmund | 26 | 17 | 43 |
| 6 | Bayer Leverkusen | 25 | 15 | 40 |
| 7 | Union Berlin | 26 | 8 | 38 |
| 8 | Stuttgart | 26 | 6 | 36 |
| 9 | Freiburg | 25 | -2 | 34 |
| 10 | Borussia M'gladbach | 25 | 1 | 33 |
| 11 | Hoffenheim | 25 | -4 | 30 |
| 12 | Werder Bremen | 26 | -7 | 30 |
| 13 | Augsburg | 25 | -11 | 29 |
| 14 | Cologne | 26 | -21 | 23 |
| 15 | Arminia Bielefeld | 26 | -25 | 22 |
| 16 | Hertha Berlin | 25 | -17 | 21 |
| 17 | Mainz | 25 | -20 | 21 |
| 18 | Schalke 04 | 25 | -50 | 10 |
Queen’s Park are now 3-0 up on Stranraer, who are down to ten men. Seeing off Hampden in style.
Dortmund equalise against Köln, and their goal to make it 2-2 was scored by Erling Haaland. Who else? It’s a tap in from yards out though it might have come off the Köln defender.
Reading, another of the Championship promotion chasers, have equalised at QPR, through Yakou Méïté.
Sheffield Wednesday now 2-0 up on Barnsley, and with Rotherham leading Bristol City, Birmingham might be looking back over their shoulders. Big job for Lee Bowyer at Blues. Big job.
Goal! Watford 2-0 Birmingham (Chalobah, 55)
A corner comes across and Chalobah nods in from the far post. Watford really stepping up after Brentford’s slip.
Updated
Goal! Norwich 1-0 Blackburn (McLean, 53)
Pukki has a shot saved and then McLean plays a one-two, and scores. Norwich had been poor in the first half, but that was much better from them.
Updated
In Germany, Köln are beating Dortmund 2-1, and if they lose that they look set to lose ground on Eintracht Frankfurt, who are beating Union Berlin 4-2, and Wolfsburg, who are winning 2-1 at Werder Bremen. The race for the top four is hotting up as Dortmund go cold.
Goal! Celta Vigo 1-2 Real Madrid (Santi Mina, 40)
Just when Real looked so dominant, they conceded a goal, and they go in at half-time leading only 2-1.
Tributes pouring in to Lewa:
Charles Antaki: “Lewandoswski is quite the phenomenon - scoring gazillions while looking like a 62 yr old (albeit a 62 yr old PT instructor in some tough army regiment). Is what he takes available over the counter?
Carl Whinder: “Just watched Lewandowski get his hat-trick. Now I’m no Bayern fan but this is ridiculous. Since going down to 10 men they have absolutely smashed Stuttgart. Some of their play has been sublime.”
Scotland update from Simon McMahon: “Goalless at Tannadice between Dundee United and Aberdeen at half time, John. Kilmarnock and Motherwell swapped early goals and Livingston and Hibs are also level at 1-1. St Mirren lead Hamilton by the only goal. Queens Park are saying farewell to Hampden in style as they lead Stranraer 2-0.”
League Two results
Barrow 2-1 Crawley Town
Bolton 0-1 Walsall
Bradford 0-0 Oldham
Cambridge Utd 1-0 Forest Green
Cheltenham 2-0 Salford City
Colchester 0-1 Port Vale
Harrogate Town 0-1 Morecambe
Mansfield 1-0 Grimsby
Newport County 0-1 Leyton Orient (Result)
Scunthorpe 0-0 Southend
Stevenage 3-1 Carlisle (Result)
Tranmere 1-1 Exeter
Half-time scores in League One
AFC Wimbledon 1-2 Charlton
Accrington Stanley 2-1 Wigan
Burton Albion 0-1 Milton Keynes Dons
Fleetwood Town 0-1 Swindon
Gillingham 2-2 Doncaster
Northampton 0-0 Crewe
Oxford Utd 0-2 Blackpool
Plymouth 2-0 Bristol Rovers
Portsmouth 2-1 Ipswich (Result)
Rochdale 0-2 Peterborough
Shrewsbury 0-0 Hull
Sunderland 1-0 Lincoln City
Half-time scores in the Championship
Barnsley 0-1 Sheff Wed
Brentford 1-1 Nottm Forest (Result)
Bristol City 0-1 Rotherham
Coventry 0-0 Wycombe
Huddersfield v. AFC Bournemouth ( Postponed )
Millwall 1-0 Middlesbrough
Norwich 0-0 Blackburn
Preston North End 0-0 Luton
Reading 0-1 QPR
Stoke 0-0 Derby
Swansea v. Cardiff (KO 5.30)
Watford 1-0 Birmingham
Goal! Celta Vigo 0-2 Real Madrid (Benzema, 30)
And another goal from Benzema. The gauntlet is thrown down to Atléti and Barca. Real utterly dominant at Vigo, where the home team have only just had their first shot.
Updated
Last week’s other Papa John’s heroes, Salford City, are 2-0 down at Cheltenham. Insert own pizza gag here.
Sunderland, Papa John’s heroes of last weekend (or one of them), are 1-0 up on Lincoln City, after a goal from Callum McFadzean.
A lifeline for Sheffield Wednesday in their almost certainly doomed battle against relegation from the Championship. They lead 1-0 at Barnsley with Jordan Rhodes the goalscorer.
Goal! Celta Vigo 0-1 Real Madrid (Benzema, 20)
Who else but Benzema, who is in such rich form at the moment?
Updated
Queen’s Park now 2-0 up on Stranraer on this historic day for them.
Oh, and here’s a goal in the Championship, and it’s Millwall 1-0 Middlesbrough after an own-goal from Grant Hall.
Still just one goal in the Championship so far...
Charlton, under the new management of Nigel Adkins, are 2-1 up at AFC Wimbledon. Lee who?
Just that Watford goal so far in the Championship from the 3pm kick-offs. Queen’s Park, by the way, on that last game ever at Hampden, are 1-0 up on Stranraer.
Here’s our roundup of the Championship action so far.
Robert Lewandowski has a hat-trick in 39 minutes, as ten-man Bayern lead Stuttgart 4-0. Incredible. He’s closing on Gerd Muller’s record of 40 in a season. Borussia Dortmund have just conceded so that Köln are level, and that’s the result of VAR awarded against Jude Bellingham. That’s converted by Ondrej Duda.
Updated
Goal! Watford 1-0 Birmingham (Sema, 4)
A tap-in after a decent save from the Brum keeper and Watford look to be taking full advantage of that Brentford slip-up.
Updated
As the 3pm kick-offs go off, some final scores from the day’s earlier games. Danny Cowley got off to a maiden win with Portsmouth in beating Ipswich 1-0 in League One. In League Two, Leyton Orient won 1-0 at Newport, while Stevenage beat ten-man Carlisle 3-1.
Our video tribute to Peter Lorimer. Farewell, Lash. He used to run a south Leeds pub in his post-football career, and was a warm and convivial host, and for a student journalist like myself in the late-1990s, was happy to talk Leeds on the phone. The Commercial Inn sounded lively down the landline.
More from the Bundesliga. Amazing scenes, where Bayern Munich are 3-0 up on Stuttgart, with two goals from Robert Lewandowski (of course) and one from Serge Gnabry. And all that’s happened with Alphonso Davies sent off for a straight-red offence.
Anything Haaland can do, Lewandowski seems to do it even better.
Is this really happening?!
— 🏆🏆🏆FC Bayern English🏆🏆🏆 (@FCBayernEN) March 20, 2021
THREE-NIL! 😍
🔴⚪ #FCBVfB 3-0 (24') pic.twitter.com/VSyezFm438
Updated
Simon McMahon reports in from north of the border, for which we are most thankful.
“Afternoon John. Only one show in town in Scotland this weekend, and that’s at Tannadice where Dundee United meet Aberdeen. A place in the top six is no longer a realistic option for Micky Mellon’s men, but a win today would almost certainly secure their place in the top flight next season. So all to play for. Elsewhere, rock bottom Kilmarnock face Motherwell, Hamilton welcome St Mirren and it’s Livingston v Hibs and St Johnstone v Ross County. In the Scottish Championship leaders Hearts visit Arbroath and it’s Ayr v Raith, Dunfermline v Inverness and Morton v Queen of the South. Scottish Leagues One and Two resume today after a pause, and so Queens Park, ten times Scottish Cup winners and twice FA Cup finalists, play their last home league game at Hampden after 118 years at the home of Scottish football.”
Queens Park play Stranraer today. Thanks, Simon. Keep it coming.
Updated
News from the Bundesliga, where Erling Haaland has already scored for Borussia Dortmund against Köln, and it was beauty too, straight through the keeper’s legs.
A sight no goalkeeper wants to see bearing down on them 🤖 pic.twitter.com/J14OXieZvV
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) March 20, 2021
A sad day for football, with the death of Leeds legend Peter Lorimer announced today.
Brentford’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest really opens the day up for Norwich and Watford. After Ivan Toney’s early penalty, Filip Krovinović’s equaliser means more dropped points for Thomas Frank’s team who are showing signs of the wobbles that cost them last season.
Updated
Southampton in the FA Cup semis for the first time since 2003? No, actually they reached that same stage in 2018 when Mark Hughes was manager, losing to Chelsea.
Updated
League Two fixtures
Barrow v. Crawley Town
Bolton v. Walsall
Bradford v. Oldham
Cambridge Utd v. Forest Green
Cheltenham v. Salford City
Colchester v. Port Vale
Harrogate Town v. Morecambe
Mansfield v. Grimsby
Newport County 0-1 Leyton Orient (Latest)
Scunthorpe v. Southend
Stevenage 2-1 Carlisle (Latest)
Tranmere v. Exeter
And in League One.
AFC Wimbledon v. Charlton
Accrington Stanley v. Wigan
Burton Albion v. Milton Keynes Dons
Fleetwood Town v. Swindon
Gillingham v. Doncaster
Northampton v. Crewe
Oxford Utd v. Blackpool
Plymouth v. Bristol Rovers
Portsmouth 1-1 Ipswich (Latest)
Rochdale v. Peterborough
Shrewsbury v. Hull
Sunderland v. Lincoln City
Here’s today’s Championship fixtures.
Barnsley v. Sheff Wed
Brentford 1-1. Nottm Forest (Latest)
Bristol City v. Rotherham
Coventry v. Wycombe
Huddersfield v. AFC Bournemouth ( Postponed )
Millwall v. Middlesbrough
Norwich v. Blackburn
Preston North End v. Luton
Reading v. QPR
Stoke v. Derby
Swansea v. Cardiff (KO 5.30)
Watford v. Birmingham
And team news from Vicarage Road.
🚨 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 🚨
— Watford Football Club 💙 (@WatfordFC) March 20, 2021
There are two changes from Tuesday night...
⬅️ Sarr (minor hamstring) & Zinckernagel (hip)
➡️ Gosling & Success@Sportsbetio | #WATBIR pic.twitter.com/TaxYPVgS4k
An unchanged XI! 👊🔵
— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) March 20, 2021
Brought to you by @BoyleSports.
In League One, Danny Cowley’s first game in charge of Portsmouth has them level at 1-1 with Ipswich under the relatively new management of Paul Cook. That was a 1pm kick-off.
Team news from Carrow Road.
🚨 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 🚨
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) March 20, 2021
◼ Buendia returns to starting XI
◼ Dowell keeps his place
📋 Team News
— Blackburn Rovers (@Rovers) March 20, 2021
🔄 Three changes for #Rovers:
⬅️ Johnson, Elliott, Armstrong
➡️ Evans, Buckley, Dolan
📺 https://t.co/zWocyLEasg#NORvROV 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/JBf9TX56nN
Updated
In the Championship, Brentford are being held 1-1 at Nottingham Forest. If that stays the same, then Norwich can really steal a march. That’s also good news for those chasing second place, with Watford kicking off at 3pm too.
Preamble
It’s Saturday so this must be Selhurst Park and Crystal Palace playing Burnley/West Brom/Villa...What? No, the FA Cup has scuppered the space/time continuum and there is no actual Barclays at 3pm. So, this week’s Clocko turns its attentions to the EFL, where there is so much to play for, and our European friends. There’s a full round of Championship fixtures in which Norwich can maintain their lead by beating Blackburn. Watford, the closest chasers, host Birmingham, under the new management of Lee Bowyer and trying to stave off relegation. Swansea v Cardiff doesn’t kick off until later and Brentford are playing in the earlier game against Nottingham Forest. At the bottom, where Wycombe and Sheffield Wednesday are surely sunk, Rotherham, who have four games in hand on Birmingham, travel to Bristol City.
In Europe, Bayern Munich can pull four points ahead of RB Leipzig, who won yesterday, by beating Stuttgart. Real Madrid, in third, can continue their chase of Atlético, by winning at Celta Vigo.
All that and the best of the action from League One and League Two. Join me.
