Man City 3-0 Burnley: The tempo here is giving Sunday stroll around the park, and the visitors have looked the more likely to score in the last 10 minutes, Josh Brownhill getting forward but firing straight at Ederson.
Manchester City v Burnley, Tottenham v Brentford: Premier League and more – live | Premier League
Key events
Spurs 3-1 Brentford: Toney offers Tottenham a reminder that this isn’t over yet, fizzing a shot just wide from 20 yards. Moments later, he stumbles in the box but gets back up to collect a loose ball, turn – and roll his shot wide of the far post.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea (Bradley 40′)
Has Jürgen Klopp unearthed another gem in Conor Bradley? The right-back has just produced a brilliant finish to put Liverpool in charge at Chelsea.
Half time in Madrid, where Atlético have been pegged back by Alvaro Garcia’s fine strike for Rayo Vallecano – it’s 1-1 at the break. In the Championship, it’s Sheffield Wednesday 0-0 Watford at the interval.
Spurs are having fun now, a quick one-touch move freeing Kulusevski who delayed his shot for too long. Brentford executed their game plan perfectly in the first half, and it’s all gone up in smoke.
GOAL! Tottenham 3-1 Brentford (Richarlison 56′)
What a turnaround! Spurs get their third goal of the second half as Maddison finds space to shoot and the ball ricochets to Richarlison, who fires beyond the defender stationed on the goal line.
Fervour from the home fans at the Etihad as Erling Haaland warms up on the touchline. Burnley are going to make three changes – Gudmundsson, Foster and Amdouni off, Aaron Ramsey, David Fofana and Connor Roberts on.
So, the two half-time changes from Postecoglou worked wonders – Hojbjerg on for Skipp and Johnson replacing Bentancur, who was poor in the first half. Maddison and Maupay are still bantering away at each other, the Brentford man perhaps suggesting Maddison’s roast dinner skills are sub-par, or similar.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea (Jota 23′)
Diogo Jota has the league leaders in front at Anfield, the goal given after a VAR handball check. Scott Murray has more:
GOAL! Tottenham 2-1 Brentford (Johnson 49′)
And within seconds, Spurs have another! It’s Werner who creates it, playing a perfect low ball across goal for half-time sub Brennan Johnson to tap in. That, it’s fair to say, is a bit more like it.
GOAL! Tottenham 1-1 Brentford (Udogie 48′)
Spurs are level! It’s Udogie who makes it with a driving run, and then scores it after Richarlison’s flick falls into his path …
GOAL! Man City 3-0 Burnley (Rodri 46′)
I tried to build the tension there, but of course it’s City who get it. Phil Foden romps down the right and pulls the ball back for Rodri on the edge of the area. He curls the ball inside the post, Champions League final style.
It’s been a week of quickfire goals, and we’ve got one after 27 seconds of the second half at the Etihad …
In the Women’s Champions League, a late own goal earned Slavia Prague a point at Lyon, the underdogs earning a 2-2 draw to end their campaign. Barcelona are 2-1 up at Benfica and on their way to a sixth win from six in Group A; Caroline Hansen and Patricia Guijarro on target for Barça before Marie-Yasmine Alidou pulled one back.
Liverpool v Chelsea is under way – follow that one with Scott Murray.
Half time: Tottenham 0-1 Brentford
A sliced Timo Werner cross ends the half. Spurs have been sluggish in attack and careless at the back, and Brentford are good value for their lead through Neal Maupay’s finish on the rebound. Much for Big Ange to ponder at the break …
Tottenham 0-1 Brentford: Six added minutes in the first half, with Spurs trying to build a clear-cut chance, up against massed Brentford defence.
Half time! Man City 2-0 Burnley
Lyle Foster bends a shot wide of the far post, and that’s about as much bother as Burnley have been able to cause their hosts so far. Two Júlian Álvarez goals have City firmly in control.
Tottenham 0-1 Brentford: Dear me, Spurs need to start defending. A long free kick finds Toney unmarked, close to the penalty spot – and the hosts are lucky that his header is steered at Vicario, rather than towards either corner.
Tottenham 0-1 Brentford: Maupay is delivering an exceptional heel turn – something he said to Kulusevski leads the Swede to shove him to the ground. Both players are booked. Maupay and Toney in a strike partnership, that’s some serious nuisance value.
Tottenham 0-1 Brentford: Richarlison puts pressure on Collins, who goes down in a heap, allowing the Spurs striker to chip the ball over Flekken and into the net. But play is stopped for a foul – there was contact, but Collins took a chance going over so theatrically.
Man City 2-0 Burnley: Doku is bundled over by Vitinho, allowing De Bruyne another chance to whip a free kick in. Nunes can’t get enough power on his header, but is offside anyway.
Tottenham 0-1 Brentford: Anything Gvardiol can do, Ethan Pinnock can do better. From a corner, the ball drops to the centre-back and he tries a quick backheel that rolls just wide. That would have been something.
Man City 2-0 Burnley: Nunes continues an impressive half with a break from midfield, and sets up Josko Gvardiol, a left-sided centre-back tonight in theory. Out on the wing here, he cuts inside and curls his shot wide of the far post.
Tottenham 0-1 Brentford: Some raised tempers at Spurs, with Maupay and Maddison exchanging words and now a tussle between Romero (of course) and Nathan Collins. It delays a Brentford free kick, which is eventually nodded away from danger by Ollie Skipp.
After that second City goal, Guardiola sprinted up the dugout steps to congratulate Carlos Vicens, the assistant coach responsible for set pieces. Pep is up against a managerial protege tonight, which means he will want to win convincingly, and in style.
Barcelona 1-0 Osasuna: Full time in Catalonia, and Vitor Roque’s header has got Xavi’s long goodbye off to a winning start. They go three points ahead of Atlético Madrid in third place; Atleti are kicking off against Rayo Vallecano right now.
Man City 2-0 Burnley: A half-chance on the break for Burnley, but Odobert can’t quite adjust his feet to get the shot away. Hjalmar Ekdal was booked for the visitors before that second Alvarez goal; the Argentinian has now scored 15 goals in all comps this season.
Apologies for momentarily having Brentford ahead at Tottenham and behind at the Etihad. I’ve now corrected. The Bees remain in the lead, and are threatening on the break – although Richarlison has just gone very close with a long range effort for the hosts.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-0 Burnley (Alvarez 23′)
De Bruyne has looked ready to do something special, and from a central free kick he pings a slide-rule pass into the area. Alvarez races on to it and flicks into the far corner, with most Burnley defenders still standing in the wall!
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Burnley (Alvarez 17′)
I was about to say that Burnley had started quite promisingly here, and now they’re behind. Matheus Nunes makes it happen, timing his cross perfectly for the onrushing Alvarez to head home. That was a very Haaland kind of goal.
GOAL! Tottenham 0-1 Brentford (Maupay 15′)
Well, that was inevitable after my ill-advised dig. Spurs are exposed at the back again, Romero playing Toney onside, and his shot is parried weakly back into danger by Vicario. Neal Maupay slides in, bundles the ball inside the near post and drops the James Maddison darts celebration in front of the home fans!
Brentford goal disallowed! The visitors repeat the trick, with Mathias Jensen playing in Mads Roerslev, who finishes really well across Vicario – but Jensen is flagged for offside in the buildup. Replays show that the assistant got that one spot on.
Spurs 0-0 Brentford: Brentford get in behind the Spurs high line, but Maupay delays his shot for too long. I’m intrigued by this new Maupay-Toney front two for Brentford – it’s a good striker/bad striker double act.
Spurs 0-0 Brentford: Kulusevski threatens to run right through the Brentford back line, but gets the ball caught under his feet with Richarlison waiting alongside him. Ah, and now the flag goes up.
Man City 0-0 Burnley: De Bruyne’s free kick is deflected over by Brownhill, and the corner is collected by Trafford.
Barcelona 1-0 Osasuna: In La Liga, a glimpse of the future as new recruit Vitor Roque gets his first goal for the club, heading home João Cancelo’s cross. Osasuna are down to 10 men after Unai García picked up two bookings.
Spurs make the early running – they’re the league’s top scorers in the first 15 minutes – and Skipp sees his shot closed down. At the Etihad, Foden’s deep cross almost eludes James Trafford, with Jeremy Doku lurking.
“I recently watched the film Bank of Dave, a rosy portrait of plucky small-town England in which Burnley FC features prominently,” writes Peter Oh. “Meanwhile, their opponents tonight can afford to leave their Silva, Norwegian treasure and a few Bobb just sitting on the bench.”
Peep!
We’re underway in north London and east Manchester.
Some pitchside thoughts from Ange Postecoglou: “It’s good to have (Maddison) back, not just what he brings as a footballer, his personality, he really wants to be at the forefront of things.”
“I think it’s important for the growth of the team,” he says of his attacking tactics. “I used to have a coach who didn’t care about losing, just wanted to play, score goals. We (managers) try to suck the joy of it sometimes – but you’ve got to have structure and work hard.”
Pep Guardiola on Kevin De Bruyne: “He has trained two or three weeks with no problem.” Erling Haaland, who starts on the bench. “It’s a long time for someone like him – we are happy when every injured player comes back to the team.” And on Vincent Kompany: “Always a pleasure to see him again … and Burnley are playing better than their results.”
As for Kompany, he is pleased to have Sander Berge back, and explains why David Fofana isn’t starting. “Sander is a big player for us, not having him in the last game was a big loss. Fofana has only trained a couple of weeks, and Lyle Foster is in good form for us.”
Join Scott Murray for a big night at Anfield:
In the Women’s Champions League, it’s Lyon 1-1 Slavia Prague at half-time after an early exchange of goals. Follow that match with Sarah Rendell:
In La Liga, Barcelona are in action at home to Osasuna in their first game since Xavi announced he will leave the club this summer. It’s 0-0 at half time, news of their coach’s departure not particularly affecting the team’s levels either way.
Tottenham v Brentford: the teams
James Maddison is back in the starting line-up and Oliver Skipp also comes in, with Højbjerg and Johnson dropping to the bench after the narrow 1-0 FA Cup loss to City. Only one change to the Brentford team that beat Forest, as Thomas Frank brings in Christian Nørgaard and drops Damsgaard from his cast of Scandinavian midfielders.
Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Skipp, Bentancur; Kulusevski, Maddison, Werner; Richarlison.
Subs: Forster, Højbjerg, Dragusin, Gil, Emerson, Johnson, Davies, Scarlett, Donley.
Brentford (3-5-2): Flekken; Collins, Pinnock, Mee; Roerslev, Jensen, Norgaard, Janelt, Lewis-Potter; Maupay, Toney.
Subs: Strakosha, Fredrick, Dasilva, Jorgensen, Ajer, Damsgaard, Baptiste, Yarmolyuk, Brierley.
Man City v Burnley teams: Haaland on bench
Erling Haaland is back on the team sheet, but only on the bench as Júlian Álvarez starts up front with Kevin De Bruyne making his first start since coming back from injury. Burnley make one change from the 1-1 draw with Luton on 12 January, with Sander Berge replacing Josh Cullen in midfield.
Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Lewis, Stones, Aké, Gvardiol; Rodri, Matheus Nunes; Foden, De Bruyne, Doku; Álvarez.
Subs: Ortega, Walker, Dias, Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, Gomez, Grealish, Haaland, Bobb.
Burnley (4-4-2): Trafford; Vitinho, O’Shea, Ekdal, Al Dakhil; Gudmundsson, Berge, Brownhill, Odobert; Foster, Amdouni.
Subs: Muric, Fofana, Cork, Roberts, Zaroury, Ramsey, Cullen, Bruun Larsen, Massengo.
Preamble
This week’s glut of Premier League games are the reverse fixtures from the opening day back in distant, sun-kissed August, and so offer us an opportunity to take stock of the teams’ campaigns so far.
Manchester City began the season in ominous fashion, winning 3-0 at Burnley; the problem for Pep Guardiola is that was also the last time Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne were on the pitch together. Both could feature tonight and with a winnable run of games ahead for City, that’s bad news for everyone else.
For Burnley, that was the first puncture in a balloon of pre-season hope that quickly deflated. Vincent Kompany’s side have collected 12 points in 20 games since, but a shock win tonight at the ground where he has a statue outside could kickstart an unlikely escape bid.
The vibes at Tottenham remain positive, with Ange Postecoglou steering the team towards the top four. After kicking off with a 2-2 at Brentford, Spurs won eight of their next nine games – but have followed that up with four wins from the last 11 league matches.
Expectations meeting reality, or a worrying downward trend? Tonight’s game will offer us clues. Thomas Frank’s busy Bees have lost their sting in a slide down the table, but Ivan Toney is back and presumably keen to make an impact against a club that could still buy him tomorrow.
We’ll also keep tabs on Liverpool v Chelsea – which is being covered separately by Scott Murray – and check in on La Liga, the Women’s Champions League and EFL Championship. Stay tuned!
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