Match report: Fulham 1-3 Everton
Premier League: Everton scored two goals in three minutes as they came from behind to win and hurt Fulham’s European qualification hopes at Craven Cottage.
Match report: Ipswich 0-1 Brentford
Premier League: Kevin Schade scored the only goal of the game to keep Brentford in contention for a place in the Europa Conference League and consign Ipswich to their 11th consecutive home defeat.
Match report: Southampton 0-0 Manchester City
Premier League: Southampton survived a sustained onslaught to earn the point that ensures they will not be tainted by association with Derby County’s class of 2007-08, while City’s inability to win could prove extremely costly. David Hytner reports from Saint Mary’s …
Match report: Wolves 0-2 Brighton
Premier League: Danny Welbeck and Brajan Gruda got the goals as Brighton saw off Wolves to keep their keep their European tilt on track. Will Unwin reports from Molineux …
But what does it all mean? Manchester City stay in third place, two points behind Arsenal and two ahead of Newcastle and Chelsea in the Champions League places below them, albeit having played one game more. They will drop to third if Either Chelsea or Newcastle win their game at St James’ Park tomrrow, while a win for Villa against Bournmouth this evening and/or Forest against Leicester tomorrow will ramp up the pressure on Pep Guardfioa’s side.
In the race slow plod for eighth, Brentford are in the boxseat, on 55 points, ahead of Brighton on goal difference. Bournemouth are a further two points back but will leapfrog both sides if they beat Villa in this evening’s late kick-off. The European jig looks up for Fulham, who are four points behind Brentford with just two games remaining.
An email: “As a fellow Derby fan, I’ve been pondering Charlie Robinson’s view and I think I kind of agree,” writes Tom Hopkins. “Though I don’t actively enjoy the record, I do find tracking the last team to get up to 12 points adds some interest to even the most mundane premier league season (for example, this one). Usually, that happens in about December, so well done Southampton for keeping things interesting for so long. Looking forward to Sunderland’s efforts in this respect next term.”
Scottish Premiership results
Championship group
Celtic 3-1 Hibernian
Dundee United 0-2 St Mirren
Relegation group
Hearts 3-0 Motherwell
Kilmarnock 3-2 Dundee
St Johnstone 2-1 Ross County
Hibs defeat at the hands of champions Celtic leaves them in third place, three points ahead of Aberdeen, who play second-placed Rangers at Ibrox tomorrow, and with a significantly better goal difference, albeit having played one game more.
At the bottom, St Johnstone live to fight another day and have closed the gap between themselves and Ross County, in the relegation playoff spot, to three points. Dundee’s defeat means they are just two points clear of Ross County and still fighting for Premiership survival.
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Premier League results
Fulham 1-3 Everton
Ipswich Town 0-1 Brentford
Southampton 0-0 Manchester City
Wolves 0-2 Brighton
Bournemouth v Aston Villa (5.30pm BST)
Full time: Fulham 1-3 Everton
Premier League: Fulham had a late shout for a penalty for handball turned down after a pitchside appointment with the monitor by referee Michael Salisbury. It wouldn’t have made much difference, as Everton had a two-goal cushion. Fulham are in 11th place, four points off eighth and with their hopes of qualifying for Europe hanging by a thread.
Full time: Wolves 0-2 Brighton
Premier League: Brighton keep their hopes of qualifying for Europe alive thanks to goals from Danny Welbeck and Brajan Gruda.
Full-time: Southampton 0-0 Manchester City
Premier League: Hats off to Southampton, who have held Manchester City and moved on to 12 points for the season. We all know what that means for the Saints but it’s a dreadful result for Manchester City, whose hopes of qualifying for the Champions League have been dealt a potentially serious blow.
Full time: Ipswich Town 0-1 Brentford
Premier League: Brentford have beaten Ipswich thanks to Kevin Schade’s first-half header. It’s Town’s 11th defeat in a row at home.
Wolves 0-2 Brighton: Mateus Mane, 17, comes off the bench to make his Premier League debut for Wolves. Born in Portugal, the teenager moved to Rochdale as a nine-year-old, represented his local club in the National League and moved to Wolves last year despite interest from Southampton. Wise choice.
An email: “What a statement it would be, for both Southampton and the Premier League itself, if they managed evade ignominy by holding the all conquering Citizens to a draw today,” writes Hasan. “Might I add that I bristle at the suggestion that my opinion is only part of a larger desire to see an unyielding litany of catastrophic results befall all the teams currently standing in the way of Forest’s path to Champions League football next season. It’s true, but I bristle at it all the same.”
Would now be a good time to mention that Omar Marmoush has just hit the bar for City, who have had 26 shots against Southampton this afternoon? They’re not so much knocking on the Southampton door as trying to knock it off its hinges with a battering ram.
GOAL! Wolves 0-2 Brighton (Gruda 85)
Premier League: Brjan Gruda dinks the ball over Jose Sa to double Brighton’s lead with a lovely finish at Molineux.
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Scottish Premiership: Ronan Hale’s equaliser for Ross County has been disallowed after a VAR check. He was offside and St Johnstone, the division’s bottom side, lead 2-1.
Scottish Premiership: Lyall Cameron, who sounds like an Edinburgh law or accountancy firm, has equalised for Dundee against Kilmarnock as his side try to avoid dropping into the relegation play-off spot. Parity is only restored for a minute, however, as Bruce Anderson fires Kilmarnock into a 2-1 lead within 60 seconds. At McDermind Park, Ronan Hale equalises for Ross County against St Johnstone.
Premier League: Bournemouth host Aston Villa in the final top flight game of the day and Scott Murray has the team news ahead of the 5.30pm (BST) kick-off at the Vitality Stadium.
An email: “On the subject of Derby County’s unwanted record low points total, of course you’re perfectly correct to say that Southampton and their fans want to secure the extra point they need to avoid equalling it and finishing the season as the joint worst Premier League team ever,” writes Charlie Robinson.
“But as a Derby fan myself, I’m not so sure it’s as unwanted as you reckon. I don’t know what other Rams fans might think, but I almost want Southampton to get the point they need. Yes, that Derby team from 2008 was beyond awful and utterly risible, but us Derby fans don’t have much, especially after the 1970s, aside from a couple of promotions. This record is at least something that is all ours, our little claim to fame.
“You’ve spoken in the past of the existential pointlessness of teams that just drift along in mid-table and never achieve anything. You have to admit, eleven points in a season is quite a remarkable and defining achievement!”
GOAL! Fulham 1-3 Everton (Beto 74)
Premier League: Everton extend their lead courtesy of Beto’s eighth goal of the season. The Guinea-Bisseau international composes himself to strike into the bottom corner and Everton are set fair to notch up their first win in four games.
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GOAL! Fulham 1-2 Everton (Keane 70)
Premier League: Making a rare start for Everton, Michael Keane leaps at the far post to convert Dwight McNeil’s corner-kick with a thumping header.
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Ipswich Town 0-1 Brentford: Ipswich survive a VAR check after Axel Tuanzebe appears to wrestle Nathan Collins to the ground in the home side’s penalty area.
Scottish Premiership: Jonah Ayunga doubles St Mirren’s lead against Dundee United, while Lawrence Shankland scores his second goal of the afternoon to make it Hearts 2-0 Motherwell on the hour mark. Two minutes later, Alan Forrest gives Hearts a three-goal lead.
Scottish Premiership: Celtic extend their lead against Hibs courtesy of Reo Hatate’s shot from the edge of the area. It’s 3-1 at Celtic Park.
Scottish Premiership: Elliot Watt restores St Johnstone’s lead against Ross County as his side continues to battle against relegation. It’s 2-1 to the hosts at McDiarmid Park.
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Southampton 0-0 Manchester City: Southampton continue to hold on against Manchester City and if they’re to win the point that takes them above their tally unwanted record set by Derby County’s Class of 2008, they’ll do it against opposition that doesn’t come much stiffer.
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Ipswich Town 0-1 Brentford: Yoane Wissa has a decent shot saved by Alex Palmer in the Ipswich goal.
Wolves 0-1 Brighton: James Milner is sat in the Molineux press box with Brighton’s analysts, writes our man in Wolverhampton. He will be impressed with the discipline of Mats Wieffer who has chased Matheus Cunha for 45 minutes to ensure he is unable to create anything, moving in between right-back and central midfield to do so. Even moreso, the Dutchman won the penalty after pouncing on a Cunha mistake. Milner is supposed to be the king of stamina and versatility but Wieffer is giving him a run for his money.
Scottish Premiership half-times
Celtic 2-1 Hibernian
Dundee United 0-1 St Mirren
Hearts 1-0 Motherwell
Kilmarnock 1-0 Dundee
St Johnstone 1-1 Ross County
Premier League half-times
Fulham 1-1 Everton
Ipswich Town 0-1 Brentford
Southampton 0-0 Manchester City
Wolves 0-1 Brighton
Bournemouth v Aston Villa (5.30pm BST)
Scottish Premiership: Adam Idah scores his fifth goal in four games to put Celtic in front against Hibs just before half-time. It’s 2-1 to the champions at Celtic Park.
GOAL! Fulham 1-1 Everton (Mykolenko 45+3)
Premier League: Bernd Leno fails to clear convincingly from a corner and Vitalii Mykolenko’s shot takes a hideous deflection off Andreas Pereira to beat the Fulham goalkeeper and restore parity for Everton.
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Scottish Premiership: Nicolas Kuhn takes advantage of a defensive mix-up to nip between defender and goalkeeper and equalise for Celtic against Hibs. Elsewhere: Ross County have equalised against a St Johnstone side that will be relegated if they lose today.
An email: “Be honest, how do you feel about Sunderland’s victory yesterday?” asks Joe Pearson, referring to the Mackems’ 2-1 Championship playoff first leg win at Coventry last night. “I know you and Jonathan Wilson are unsure whether you want the Black Cats to get promoted, but aren’t you the least bit excited?”
No, is the answer. I think Sunderland would be woefully ill-equipped to even try to compete in the Premier League next season and the thought of seeing them get slaughtered every weekend is not one that holds much attraction.
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Scottish Premiership: Daniel Balodis heads St Johnstone into a 1-0 lead against Ross County as the side from Perth try to keep their hopes of staving off relegation for another week alive. Elsewhere in the Scottish top flight, Lawrence Shankland got himself on the scoresheet to put Hearts one up against Motherwell, while Kilmarnock lead Dundee courtesy of a Daniel Armstrong penalty after 31 minutes. Mikael Mandron has fired St Mirren into a one-goal lead against Dundee United and as I’ve already mentioned, Celtic are losing at home to Hibernian.
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Southampton 0-0 Manchester City: Kevin De Bruyne tries his luck with a free-kick a little outside the Southampton penalty area. He gets the ball up, over the wall but it lands on the roof of the net.
Scottish Premiership: Hibs have taken a surprise lead against Celtic in Glasgow courtesy of Martin Boyle’s opener after 25 minutes. That match kicked off a few minutes late.
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GOAL! Wolves 0-1 Brighton (Welbeck 28pen)
Premier League: Danny Welbeck places the ball on the spot, sends Jose Sa the wrong way and scores his 10th league goal of the season to put Brighton ahead.
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PENALTY! Brighton have a spot-kick at Molineux
Premier League: Matts Wieffer steals the ball from Matheus Cunha and is immediately brought down by the Wolves player as he tried to win it back. Cunha made a genuine attempt to play the ball and is booked.
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Key event
Wolves 0-0 Brighton: Danny Welbeck thought he’d fired Brighton in front at Molineux, shooting into the ground before the ball ended up in the back of the net. The flag went up for a Yankuba Minteh offside in the build-up but it went to VAR. Minteh is adjudged to have been interfering with play as Welbeck’s shot went in.
GOAL! Ipswich Town 0-1 Brentford (Schade 18)
Premier League: Bryan Mbeumo sends a corner into the mixer, where Kevin Schade leaps to head home his 11th league goal of the season and set Brentford on course for their fourth consecutive win in the top flight.
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GOAL! Fulham 1-0 Everton (Jimenez 17)
Premier League: Raul Jimenez leaps highest to connect with an Emile Smith-Rowe cross and head home his 11th Premier League goal of the season and put Fulham in front.
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Wolves 0-0 Brighton: Both teams have had chances but Wolves are having the better of things in these early stages. Their latest opportunity sees Nelson Semedo head over from a good position.
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Southampton 0-0 Manchester City: Southampton are forced to defend a Manchester City free-kick taken by Kevin De Bruyne after he was barged in the back.
WSL: Chelsea the champions have beaten Liverpool 1-0 to become the league’s first ever Invincibles, while Arsenal secured second place with a 4-3 win over Manchester United at the Emirates. United finished third in the table, one point ahead of Manchester City, whose 5-2 win against already relegated Crystal Palace wasn’t enough to get them into the Champions League places.
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Not long now: Our three o’clock kick-offs are about to get under way.
An email: “Southampton v City feels like one of those 10-0 threatening games,” writes Hugh Molloy. “Haaland back with a point to prove, no need to rest legs for Europe, De Bruyne playing for pride and a new club, and goal difference a factor in making the top 5. Early goal and it could be brutal.”
League One playoff: It’s finished 2-2 between Leyton Orient and Stockport County in the first leg of their semi-final at Brisbane Road, where Orient went ahead in the first half through a Charlie Kelman goal that should have been ruled out for a blatant offside.
Oliver Norwood and Fraser Horsfall swung the tie in Stockport’s favour with quickfire goals in the second half, but a late penalty from Kelman, who is on loan at Orient from QPR, means it’s all square going into Wednesday night’s second leg at Edgeley Park. Wycombe Wanderers and Charlton Athletic will play the first leg of their semi-final at Adams Park tomorrow.
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Crystal Palace: John Textor is attempting an audacious takeover of the south London club but faces competition from the New York Jets owner Woody Johnson as the battle for control at Selhurst Park heats up before the club’s appearance in the FA Cup final next Saturday. Ed Aarons has the exclusive …
Manchester United: Fans protested against the Glazer family’s leveraged takeover of the club 20 years ago but were offered little support and the toxicity has had a lasting impact. Jonathan Liew analyses two decades of division in and around Old Trafford.
Access All Areas: “The Premier League has asked clubs to give broadcasters the right to film inside dressing rooms or conduct in-game player interviews during live coverage from next season,” writes Matt Hughes in a Guardian exclusive. “A new domestic TV deal worth £6.7bn over four years begins in August and Sky Sports and TNT Sports want more for their money, with the league supporting their demands.”
Valley Parade fire: Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of the awful day when 56 football supporters lost their lives and hundreds more were injured after the main stand at Valley Parade caught fire during a match between Bradford City and Lincoln City. The city of Bradford came together that day and its unity since has been a constant source of pride. Aaron Bower reports …
WSL: Aggie Beever-Jones has just fired Chelsea ahead against Liverpool, in a state of affairs that will see Chelsea win the Women’s Super League unbeaten with a record 60 points. Sonia Bompastor’s side will become the WSL’s first ever Invincibles.
Wolves v Brighton line-ups
Wolves: Jose Sa, Doherty, Agbadou, Toti Gomes, Nelson Semedo, Joao Gomes, Andre Trindade, Ait Nouri, Munetsi, Goncalo Guedes, Cunha.
Subs: Bentley, Bueno, Traore, Larsen, Rodrigo Gomes, Sarabia, Bellegarde, Djiga, Mane.
Brighton: Verbruggen, Lamptey, van Hecke, Webster, Estupinan, Wieffer, Baleba, Minteh, O’Riley, Ayari, Welbeck.
Subs: Steele, Igor, Gruda, Adingra, Cashin, Mitoma, Gomez, Hinshelwood, Howell.
Those teams: Goncalo Guedes comes into the Wolves team in place of Jean-Ricner Belegarde, while Tariq Lamptey, Adam Webster and Yasin Ayari all start for Brighton. Simon Adingra and Jack Hinshelwood are among the substitutes, while Lewis Dunk is not in the matchday squad.
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Fulham v Everton line-ups
Fulham: Leno, Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon, Andreas Pereira, Berge, Wilson, Smith-Rowe, Iwobi, Jimenez.
Subs: Godo, Diop, King, Willian, Cuenca, Vinicius, Traore, Cairney, Benda.
Everton: Pickford, Young, Keane, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Gueye, Garner, Harrison, Doucoure, Alcaraz, Beto.
Subs: Iroegbunam, Coleman, Broja, Chermiti, Ndiaye, Calvert-Lewin, McNeil, Patterson, Virginia.
Those teams: Andreas Pereira and Emile Smith-Rowe come into Marco Silva’s Fulham side, while Everton maker four changes. Abdoulaye Doucoure, Ashley Young, Michael Keane and Jack Harrison come into the side, with Iliman Ndiaye, Jake O’Brien, Dwight McNeil and Nathan Patterson dropping out.
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Ipswich Town v Brentford line-ups
Ipswich Town: Palmer, Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Burgess, Greaves, Morsy, Jack Taylor, Hutchinson, Chaplin, Enciso, Delap.
Subs: Walton, Woolfenden, Cajuste, Johnson, Luongo, Hirst, Godfrey, Clarke, Boniface.
Brentford: Flekken, Kayode, Collins, van den Berg, Lewis-Potter, Norgaard, Yarmolyuk, Mbeumo, Damsgaard, Schade, Wissa.
Subs: Valdimarsson, Henry, Pinnock, Jensen, Thiago, Mee, Konak, Maghoma, Nunes Gomes.
Those teams: Brentford are unchanged, while Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna brings in Axel Tuanzebe, who will raise his bat to the pavilion on the occasion of his 100th Premier League appearance.
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Southampton v Manchester City line-ups
Southampton: Ramsdale, Bree, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Stephens, Welington, Ugochukwu, Downes, Fernandes, Dibling, Kamaldeen.
Subs: McCarthy, Manning, Sugawara, Wood, Smallbone, Aribo, Archer, Stewart, Onuachu.
Manchester City: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Kovacic, De Bruyne, Bernardo, McAtee, Foden, Haaland.
Subs: Ortega Moreno, Marmoush, Grealish, Doku, Nico, Gundogan, Savinho, Nunes, O’Reilly.
Those teams: Erling Haaland returns to Manchester City’s line-up after six games out with an ankle injury, with Omar Marmoush making way. Manuel Akanji, Rico Lewis, James McAtee and Phil Foden also come into Pep Guardiola’s side.
Southampton make three changes to the side that lost against Leicester last time out, with Tyler Dibling, Welington and James Bree coming into interim coach Simon Rusk’s side.
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League One playoff: Stockport County have gone ahead at Brisbane Road, with Norwood turning provider to tee up Fraser Horsfall for a back post header from close range that gives the visitors the advantage.
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League One playoff: Leyton Orient took the lead against Stockport County in their semi-final first leg courtesy of a strike from a preposterously offside Charlie Kelman that was allowed to stand, but the visitors have just equalised after Oliver Norwood scored from the spot. There’s about 30 minutes to play at Brisbane Road. Wycombe Wanderers and Charlton Athletic will contest the first leg of their semi-final at Adams Park tomorrow.
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Meanwhile in Scotland ...
Celtic have already won the title and welcome third-placed Hibernian to Glasgow today. As things stand David Gray’s side are in the box-seat to qualify for a Europa League place, which is no mean feat considering they were bottom of the table after 16 games of the season.
Three points behind Hibs in fourth place, Aberdeen travel to Ibrox to take on second-placed Rangers tomorrow. In fifth and sixth place respectively, Dundee United host St Mirren this afternoon. A win for United would keep them in with a shout of finishing third or coming fourth and getting into the Europa Conference League qualifying round.
In the Scottish Premiership relegation league, Simo Valakari’s St Johnstone look doomed and will be relegated if they lose their bottom-of-the-table clash against Ross County this afternoon. Six points above St Johnstone in the relegation playoff place, the Staggies will be sucked into a scrap for the automatic relegation spot if they lost in Perth.
If Ross County win and Dundee lose against Kilmarnock, the Dee will drop to the relegation playoff spot with two rounds of games to go. Kilmarnock will all but guarantee their safety with a win, while Hearts are certain to be playing Premiership football next season if they beat Motherwell.
Scottish Premiership (Championship group)
Celtic v Hibernian
Dundee United v St Mirren
Scottish Premiership (Relegation group)
Hearts v Motherwell
Kilmarnock v Dundee
St Johnstone v Ross County
Today’s Premier League fixtures
Fulham v Everton
Ipswich Town v Brentford
Southampton v Manchester City
Wolves v Brighton
Bournemouth v Aston Villa (5.30pm BST)
Wolves v Brighton: If Wolves head coach Vitor Pereira is to enjoy his customary clatter of righteous post-match pints in the local Wetherspoons this evening, his side will need to return to winning ways against a Brighton side still harbouring hopes of scraping into Europe next season. Wolves’ mightily impressive run of six consecutive wins came to an end at Manchester City last weekend, although it could be argued that Pereira’s side were more than a little unfortunate to lose given the chances they created.
With a visit from the champions looming next weekend, followed by a trip to a Spurs side with more pressing matters on their mind, Brighton will be hopeful of hoovering up some points in their final two games against two teams with little to play for in the Premier League but anything but a win today is likely to leave their chances of playing in Europe next season in serious jeopardy.
Southampton v Manchester City: With three games left to win the solitary point that will take them above the record low 11 amassed by the Derby County team of 2007-08, Southampton are unlikely to get it today. They welcome an in-form Manchester City side to St Mary’s, with Pep Guardiola’s side unbeaten in seven top flight games and having won four in a row.
While City’s place in the top five is not yet assured, they are on an upward trajectory and will fancy their chances of overtaking Arsenal to finish second behind Liverpool come season’s end. A win today will all but guarantee their place in the Champions League next season if Nottingham Forest lose against Leicester City tomorrow.
With their goal difference of -57, Southampton are currently 12 goals better off than that Derby County side and can still avoid the ignominy of becoming the worst Premier League of all time if they lose their final three games of the season by a combined total of 11 goals or fewer. Given City’s recent return to form, a cynic might argue they will do well to lose by less than a dozen today.
Ipswich v Brentford: Currently a point behind Bournemouth in eighth, Brentford need a result against relegated Ipswich Town to maintain their push for their highest ever top flight finish and the place in European competition that could come with it. The Bees have never played in Europe before but come into this afternoon’s game on the back of three consecutive wins, with potentially tricky fixtures against Fulham and Wolves to come.
Fulham v Everton: Having taken just three points from the past 12 available, Fulham’s push for the eighth place finish that might be good enough to earn them a place in next season’s Europa Conference League, Marco Silva’s side could really do with a win over Everton to stay in the hunt. If Manchester City finish in the Champions League places and win the FA Cup, whoever finishes eighth will get into the Conference League.
With a trip to Brentford and the visit of Manchester City remaining in the coming fortnight, this afternoon’s match against an Everton side who have won just one game in their past 10 almost certainly presents Marco Silva side with their best opportunity of taking maximum points.
With their safety long since assured under David Moyes, Everton have noticably taken their foot off the gas and have little or nothing left to play for beyond ensuring they check out of Goodison Park at the end of their 133-year residency with a win against Southampton next weekend.
Today’s Premier League fixtures
Fulham v Everton
Ipswich Town v Brentford
Southampton v Manchester City
Wolves v Brighton
Bournemouth v Aston Villa (5.30pm BST)
Premier League clockwatch
With the title already decided and the three relegation places already decided, the race to finish in the top five, to finish in the top eight and to finish with at least one more point than 2008-era Derby County, the worst team in Premier League history, are among those being contested in today’s three o’clock kick-offs.
We’re not going to attempt to insult the intelligence of our readers – there have been more exciting Saturday afternoons in recent Premier League memory and today’s is an undeniably difficult sell. For all that, we’ll be nothing if not diligent as we bring you news of any major talking points and all the goals as they go in, while flagging up any other incidents of note at home and further afield.
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