Finally, Jacob Steinberg was at the London Stadium. His report on another good result for the upwardly mobile Hammers is below. And that’s your lot. Thanks for reading on a very entertaining and incident-packed evening in the Premier League. Six more games tomorrow night! Hope you’ll come back and enjoy those with us. Nighty night!
Stuart James saw Huddersfield throw the kitchen sink at Bournemouth ... only to come away with nothing.
Dominic Fifield was at the Amex. He witnessed a tumultuous battle between the Seagulls and the Eagles.
Our award-winning match reports, then! Amy Lawrence was at Vicarage Road to see Pep’s men fall over the line.
A classified check.
Bournemouth 2-1 Huddersfield Town
Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 Crystal Palace
Watford 1-2 Manchester City
West Ham United 3-1 Cardiff City
Those results mean Manchester City go five clear of Liverpool at the top, on 41 points. Bournemouth rise to sixth on 23; they’re a point ahead of Everton and Manchester United. And Brighton move into the top half on 21 points. Watford slip to 11th spot, while West Ham rise to 12th on 18 points. Crystal Palace slip below Newcastle United on goal difference. And it’s as you were for Cardiff and Huddersfield, who remain just above the relegation trapdoor.
FULL TIME: Watford 1-2 Manchester City
And that’s that! Pep breathes a sigh of relief on the touchline. City were utterly dominant until Watford’s late goal, whereupon the nerves began to jangle a little. But they’ve closed out the win, and go five clear of Liverpool, who visit Burnley tomorrow evening.
Pep Guardiola is pacing around the technical area in the nervous fashion, as Gerard Deulofeu wins a corner for Watford down the right. Manchester City half clear, but Abdoulaye Doucouré is gifted the chance to take a shot from ten yards. It’s blocked out for another corner, which doesn’t come to much. The flag goes up for an offside against Watford, and that looks like enough for City to fall over the line!
Manchester City are suddenly hanging on! Ederson is booked for time-wasting over a goal kick. Absurd that it’s come to this, on the overall balance of play. But Watford have three minutes of added time to save themselves!
Watford go this close to equalising against Manchester City! Troy Deeney rises to meet a corner coming in from the left. He sends a header towards the top left, but there’s no force behind it, and Ederson is able to claim easily enough.
FULL TIME: Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 Crystal Palace
Albion hold on for a famous victory against the old enemy! Chris Hughton celebrates; Roy Hodgson has a face like thunder. And no wonder, because his struggling team were thoroughly outplayed by ten men.
GOAL! Watford 1-2 Manchester City (Doucouré 85)
Now then. City should really be three or four up. But now there’s just a goal in it. Good work from Gerard Deulofeu down the right. He curls low to Abdoulaye Doucouré, six yards out. He has to score, and does, albeit only bundling home at the third attempt.
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FULL TIME: Bournemouth 2-1 Huddersfield Town
The Terriers refused to give up in the second half, but there was to be no reward for their incessant pressure.
FULL TIME: West Ham United 3-1 Cardiff City
And that’s your lot in east London, pretty bubbles filling the cold night air.
GOAL! West Ham United 3-1 Cardiff City (Murphy 90+5)
A consolation for Cardiff from a corner. A game of pinball in the box, and Josh Murphy heads home from a yard out.
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It’s finished 6-1 to Inverness Caley Thistle in the Scottish Cup against Edinburgh City. An injury-time goal for Aaron Doran there for the highlanders.
And the thing is, a goal any time soon for Watford would give Manchester City a little something to think about. The hosts nearly get it too, a lovely sweeping move that ends with Troy Deeney teeing up Abdoulaye Doucouré, rushing in from the left. He’s got to test Ederson, but his attempt to curl the ball across the keeper and into the bottom right is weak as milky tea. Ederson slowly bends down to scoop what’s effectively a backpass into his arms.
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Manchester City are swanning around Vicarage Road in the superior style. Riyad Mahrez scoops a cross in from the right. It’s flicked on by David Silva, and sails serenely towards Gabriel Jesus, who simply must plant home a header from six yards. But he somehow pings a poor effort over the bar. It’s not clear how this is only 2-0 to the champions.
GOAL! Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 Crystal Palace (Milivojević 81 pen)
Wilfried Zaha, on his 300th appearance for Palace, dribbles his way into the Brighton box and is brought down by Leon Balogun. Luka Milivojević slots the penalty home, and there’s plenty of time left for another goal that would make the home fans very nervous indeed!
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And it’s nearly 4-0 for West Ham against Cardiff. Declan Rice and Angelo Ogbonna take turns to test Neil Etheridge, who is saving the Bluebirds’ blushes right now. Andy Carroll’s back, by the way, and his mere presence has been been causing panic and bedlam in the Cardiff defence.
Riyad Mahrez nearly makes it 3-0 for Manchester City at Watford. He sashays in from his right-wing beat and hits a shot that deflects up off a defender, loops over a panicked Ben Foster, and nearly drops into the bottom left. The ball drifts past the post ... just. Apologies to fans of Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, but it doesn’t look as though Watford are getting back into this game.
It was Sol Campbell’s first match in charge of Macclesfield Town tonight. Sadly for the big man, it’s ended in a defeat to Newcastle United under-21s in the Football League Trophy. They lost on penalties after a 1-1 draw ... the first time Macclesfield have suffered shootout defeat in their entire history. Ah well, the only way is up. Meanwhile it’s a hat-trick for Jordan White, as Inverness Caledonian Thistle take a 5-1 lead against Edinburgh City.
GOAL! Watford 0-2 Manchester City (Mahrez 51)
The champions and leaders will be five points clear of Liverpool this evening, barring something very weird happening in the next 40 minutes. Gabriel Jesus skedaddles down the inside-left channel, reaches the byline, and cuts back to Riyad Mahrez, bombing in from the right. Mahrez meets the pass first time, and slams an unstoppable shot past Ben Foster. That’s a beautiful, crisp finish. City: what a team.
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GOAL! West Ham United 3-0 Cardiff City (Antonio 60)
Michail Antonio eyebrows home a corner, and the sky is falling in on Cardiff. That Joe Ralls penalty seems an awfully long time ago now.
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Another chance for Huddersfield! Aaron Mooy drifts in from the right and has a whack that’s well saved by Artur Boruc. And it’s 4-1 now to Inverness Caley Thistle in the Scottish Cup, Jordan White scoring his second of the evening against Edinburgh City.
GOAL! West Ham United 2-0 Cardiff City (Perez 54)
It’s two in five minutes for the West Ham sub! Lucas Perez is teed up after some good work from Mark Noble and Arthur Masuaku.
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Huddersfield are pressing for an equaliser at Bournemouth. Aaron Mooy sends a cross towards Alex Pritchard, who can’t quite get his feet sorted to get a worthwhile shot away. It’s still 2-1 to the hosts. Meanwhile a third goal for Caley Thistle in their third-round Scottish Cup replay against Edinburgh City. Tom Walsh with his second of the night on 53 minutes. It’s 3-1 to ICT.
GOAL! West Ham United 1-0 Cardiff City (Perez 49)
Cardiff had the chance to go one up in the first half, but Joe Rolls missed the penalty. They had a couple of chances to clear their lines here, too. But they didn’t, and Lucas Perez ended up slamming home the opener at the London Stadium. Perez had come on for the injured Marko Arnautović, incidentally.
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It’s half-time at Vicarage Road. Manchester City lead Watford 1-0 thanks to that Leroy Sane goal; it had been coming on the balance of play. Even so, Troy Deeney will be kicking himself for not putting away that gilt-edged chance. On that subject, here’s The second Golden Age of Hollywood with Justin Kavanagh. “Here’s Troy Deeney’s reaction to that miss against City as he lies prostrate on the turf and looks into the dark Hertfordshire sky.” The only highlights reel to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
And it should be two for City, because Riyad Mahrez is sent scampering free down the right, having busted the Watford offside trap. He enters the area but takes something of a heavy touch. Stretching for the ball, he pokes it harmlessly wide right from six yards. Watford get away with one.
GOAL! Watford 0-1 Manchester City (Sane 40)
Riyad Mahrez crosses deep from the right. David Silva should score, but uncharacteristically lets the ball clank off his shins at close range. No matter! The ball’s immediately worked back out right to Mahrez, who tries again. His deep cross is met by the in-rushing Leroy Sane, who cleverly chests the ball past Ben Foster and into the net!
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And that’s half-time at the Amex. Here’s how it looks in the Premier League ...
Bournemouth 2-1 Huddersfield Town (HT)
Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0 Crystal Palace (HT)
Watford 0-0 Manchester City (L)
West Ham United 0-0 Cardiff City (HT)
GOAL! Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0 Crystal Palace (Andone 45+4)
Ten-man Brighton extend their lead even further! Palace are piling forward in the hope of getting back into the game before half-time. But the hosts break upfield, and Florin Andone - the man who came on for the injured Glenn Murray - curls one past Wayne Hennessey! What an absurd half of football!
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A great chance for Watford against the champions! Abdoulaye Doucouré, his back to goal on the edge of the box, loops a ball over his head and into the path of Troy Deeney, who surely must score from close range! But his sidefooted effort, aimed towards the bottom right, is kicked clear by Ederson. What a chance!
The Golden Age of Hollywood. The 28th minute at the Amex, brought to you in glorious Technicolor by Paramount Pictures. Thanks to Niall Mullen for the clip.
Watford have started to probe Manchester City a little. But the champions aren’t panicking, a fact illustrated by Ederson’s no-look pass out to Vincent Kompany. Troy Deeney was sniffing around, as well; that took balls. And no little talent, of course. This team are something else. Still goalless at Vicarage Road.
GOAL! Bournemouth 2-1 Huddersfield Town (Kongolo 38)
Huddersfield have been slowly working their way back into the match at Dean Court, and they’ve got some reward. Terence Kongolo scores his first goal for the Terriers, heading home an Aaron Mooy cross.
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Marko Arnautović bowls over Cardiff’s Junior Hoillet in the West Ham area. A needless challenge, and it’s a penalty kick! Joe Ralls takes ... and Łukasz Fabiański saves! Meanwhile at the Amex cauldron, Luka Milivojević has an effort cleared off the line by Bernardo.
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GOAL! Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 Crystal Palace (Balogun 31)
And if that isn’t wild enough, Glenn Murray looks like he can’t continue. He’s off the pitch nursing a sore shoulder; Brighton are down to nine for a minute or so. Leon Balogun then comes on for Pascal Gross ... and within 25 seconds he’s slamming the ball home from the corner! Remember that corner? What a business at the Amex!
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RED CARD! Shane Duffy (Brighton & Hove Albion)
So it seems the Brighton penalty was a very generous decision indeed. By way of recompense, the referee doesn’t give one when Glenn Murray goes over Luka Milivojević’s leg. Just a corner. Before it can be taken, Shane Duffy pushes his head into Patrick van Aanholt, and is sent packing!
GOAL! Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Crystal Palace (Murray 24 pen)
A melee in the Palace box. James McArthur brings down José Izquierdo, and Glenn Murray slams home the resulting penalty, just, the ball bothering the underside of the bar.
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GOAL! Bournemouth 2-0 Huddersfield Town (Fraser 22)
Ryan Fraser already has an assist to his name tonight; now he’s got a goal to add to his personal tally. He finishes off a speedy break by passing the ball into the net. Huddersfield lost 4-0 here last week; they’ll already be fearing another thrashing.
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Angelo Ogbonna has just sent a couple of Robert Snodgrass corners straight at Neil Etheridge. The Cardiff keeper takes a whack to his hand while making the second save. Meanwhile Caley Thistle are back in front against Edinburgh City, Jordan White making it 2-1 on 15 minutes.
West Ham are on the front foot against Cardiff. Dominant in possession. No goals yet, though Felipe Anderson has just sent a ball into the centre for Marko Arnautović, who couldn’t get anything meaningful away from a promising position. Meanwhile the match at Vicarage Road has kicked off, and David Silva has already been worrying the Watford back line with his trademark buzzing around. “There’s much to admire about Troy Deeney,” begins Gary Naylor, “but I’m not sure this is his kind of match. I’m guessing his number will be up after an hour - whether that proves to be Sr Gracia’s or Mr Tierney’s decision is, I suspect, about a fifty-fifty call.”
Huddersfield are rocking. Joshua King has just had two opportunities to double Bournemouth’s lead in a minute. It’s still 1-0. Meanwhile there’s a Scottish Cup third-round replay going on this evening. In it, the 2015 winners Inverness Caledonian Thistle went a goal up through Tom Walsh on five minutes ... but Edinburgh City of League Two have almost immediately equalised through Blair Henderson. Wild scenes on the Moray Firth.
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-0 Huddersfield Town (Wilson 5)
A fast start for the Cherries at Dean Court! Callum Wilson heads home a Ryan Fraser cross. The Terriers - lovely retro badge on those shirts - appeal for an offside. But nothing doing. Wilson’s ninth goal of the season stands!
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OK, they’re kicking off at Dean Court, the Amex and the London Stadium. Action imminent! In the meantime, here’s Peter Oh: “Sure, so Pep Guardiola knows how to tweak his finely tuned football machine. The question is, does he know how to twerk?” Ha. On the subject of that abject clown at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, and while we wait for the first news of the evening, here’s Marina Hyde with yet another satirical masterclass.
Rainbow Laces. The world of football continues to stand alongside LGBT fans in Stonewall’s good fight against bigotry, be it by wearing the titular boot-securing items ...
... sporting colourful armbands ...
... or designing fancy frontages.
Not that anyone needs reminding about the sheer depth of Manchester City’s squad ... but Pep Guardiola makes six changes from the weekend as his side rock up at Watford. David Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Kyle Walker, Vincent Kompany, John Stones and Fabian Delph step up, at the expense of Raheem Sterling, Ilkay Gundogan, Aymeric Laporte, Nicolas Otamendi, Danilo and Alexander Zinchenko. That’s a whole new defence, just because they can. Javi Gracia won’t know whether to laugh or cry. (See also: Jurgen Klopp, Maurizio Sarri, Unai Emery, Mauricio Pochettino, etc.)
The hosts Watford make just the three swaps from their weekend loss at Leicester. Nathaniel Chalobah, Troy Deeney and Christian Kabasele replace Gerard Deulofeu, Adrian Mariappa and the suspended Etienne Capoue.
... and at Vicarage Road ...
... here’s the teamsheet from tonight’s sole 8pm kick-off.
Watford: Foster, Femenia, Cathcart, Kabasele, Holebas, Doucoure, Chalobah, Hughes, Pereyra, Deeney, Success.
Subs: Gomes, Mariappa, Deulofeu, Masina, Gray, Quina, Wilmot.
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Kompany, Stones, Delph, Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho, Silva, Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus, Sane.
Subs: Danilo, Sterling, Gundogan, Laporte, Otamendi, Foden, Muric.
Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire).
Bournemouth call up Jefferson Lerma and David Brooks. They replace Tyrone Mings and Andrew Surman from the side that lost at Manchester City last weekend; those two are benched. Huddersfield make one change to their team, Laurent Depoitre coming in for the suspended Steve Mounie.
Brighton make two changes for the big one at the Amex. Martin Montoya and Glenn Murray take the places of Florin Andone and the injured Bruno. Crystal Palace are unchanged after their weekend win over Burnley. Wilfried Zaha makes his 300th appearance for the club.
West Ham make three changes to the XI named at Newcastle on Saturday. Aaron Cresswell is injured, while Fabian Balbuena and Pablo Zabaleta drop to the bench. Michail Antonio, Arthur Masuaku and Angelo Ogbonna take their places. Cardiff make just the one change from the team that saw off Wolves on Friday evening. Joe Bennett replaces Josh Murphy, who is on the bench.
Tonight's teams
Bournemouth: Begovic, Francis, Steve Cook, Ake, Daniels, Brooks, Lerma, Lewis Cook, Fraser, King, Wilson.
Subs: Boruc, Surman, Mousset, Defoe, Stanislas, Rico, Mings.
Huddersfield Town: Lossl, Jorgensen, Schindler, Kongolo, Hadergjonaj, Mooy, Hogg, Billing, Durm, Pritchard, Depoitre.
Subs: Smith, Kachunga, Hamer, Sobhi, Mbenza, Williams, Sabiri.
Referee: Roger East (Wiltshire).
Brighton & Hove Albion: Ryan, Montoya, Duffy, Dunk, Bernardo, March, Propper, Bissouma, Izquierdo, Gross, Murray.
Subs: Bong, Kayal, Locadia, Andone, Knockaert, Balogun, Steele.
Crystal Palace: Hennessey, Wan Bissaka, Tomkins, Sakho, Van Aanholt, McArthur, Kouyate, Milivojevic, Meyer, Townsend, Zaha.
Subs: Ward, Sorloth, Ayew, Schlupp, Guaita, Kelly, Puncheon.
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire).
West Ham United: Fabianski, Antonio, Diop, Ogbonna, Masuaku, Snodgrass, Rice, Noble, Felipe Anderson, Hernandez, Arnautovic.
Subs: Balbuena, Zabaleta, Carroll, Adrian, Obiang, Lucas Perez, Diangana.
Cardiff City: Etheridge, Ecuele Manga, Morrison, Bamba, Bennett, Gunnarsson, Victor Camarasa, Ralls, Arter, Hoilett, Paterson.
Subs: Peltier, Josh Murphy, Smithies, Reid, Mendez-Laing, Harris, Madine.
Referee: Graham Scott (Oxfordshire).
Evening all!
There’s nothing like a full midweek Premier League fixture list, is there? The bulk of it comes along tomorrow night, but there’s plenty enough fun to be had this evening. Take a look at this!
Bournemouth v Huddersfield Town (7.45pm)
Brighton & Hove Albion v Crystal Palace (7.45pm)
Watford v Manchester City (8pm)
West Ham United v Cardiff City (7.45pm)
Will leaders City extend their advantage at the top to five points, heaping pressure on the chasing pack tomorrow? Can Huddersfield or Cardiff pick up precious away points in their battle to move away from the danger zone? And who will triumph in the hotly contested Seagulls-Eagles derby? We’ll find out soon enough. Teams as we have them. It’s on!
