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Manchester City v Arsenal: Premier League – live | Premier League
Key events
90+6 min: City substitution Nathan Ake for Antoine Semenyo.
90+5 min: So close from Havertz!
What a chance for Arsenal! Trossard, on the right, flashes a superb cross towards a group of players near the penalty spot. Havertz rises beautitfully and powers a header that beats the leaping Donnarumma and ripples the roof of the net.
Donnarumma might have saved it had it been on target, but I wouldn’t put the farm on it. Goodness me, Arsenal have had some chances today.
90+5 min Rice’s corner is headed up and partially away by O’Reilly. Arsenal are forced back to Raya and then they come again.
90+4 min A deep cross towards Gabriel is headed behind by Nunes. Corner to Arsenal…
90+3 min Arsenal are finally pinning City back. Donnarumma doesn’t come for White’s cross, which is eventually hooked clear by Nunes. Hincapie swings in another cross and the tireless Bernardo Silva heads away.
90+2 min Hincapie runs at Nunes just outside the area and goes over. Nunes leaned into him quite forcefully and was a bit lucky to get away with that. It was outside the area so VAR can’t get involved.
90 min Arsenal had some excellent spells in the first half. But in the second, despite going very close on three occasions, they haven’t been able to put City under any sustained presssure.
There will be seven added minutes.
88 min: City substitutions Savinho and Nico Gonzalez replace Jeremy Doku and the limping Rodri. He’s been magnificent in midfield.
87 min The last few minutes have been very stop-start, which suits City. I’d imagine there will be at least five added minutes.
86 min Pep Guardiola was booked for his angry reaction when Gabriel wasn’t sent off.
85 min: A substitution apiece City bring on Phil Foden for Rayan Cherki. Arsenal replace Martin Zubimendi with Viktor Gyokeres, which means a switch to 4-2-4.
83 min: It’s kicking off! Haaland and Gabriel go head to head, then Gabriel shoves his head forcefully against Haaland’s. It wasn’t quite a headbutt but it was such a risky thing to do and he could easily have been sent off. Not today: Anthony Taylor has given both players a yellow card. Haaland also shoved Gabriel before they went head to head.
The contretemps led to a shoving match involving most of the 22 players. It soon petered out.
82 min Haaland’s goal was his 23rd in the Premier League this season. He’s a nose ahead of Igor Thiago in the race for the Golden Boot.
81 min City are still dominating possession even though it’s Arsenal who need a goal. It’s been a confusing second half: City have been in control yet Arsenal have hit the post twice and forced a big save from Gianluigi Donnarumma.
79 min “Before the match, Freddie Ljungberg made the observation on Viaplay that in recent matches the Gunners had refrained from passing forward, even when the option presented itself,” writes Kári Tulinius. “They’ve been notably progressive today. If they take this attitude into the rest of the run-in, I have some hope for the title race.”
78 min Arsenal break from a City corner. For a split-second it looks like Havertz is through on goal, only for Bernardo Silva to charge back, wrestle with Havertz and force the bouncing ball to safety. Outstanding defending.
77 min In other news…
75 min Nothing against White or Mosquera but Arsenal have really missed Jurrien Timber in the last month.
74 min: Double substitution for Arsenal Ben White and Leandro Trossard replace Cristhian Mosquera and Eberechi Eze.
73 min There was a check for handball against O’Reilly but it definitely came off his side.
72 min: Gabriel hits the post!
Odegaard swings a free-kick beyond the far post, where Gabriel’s header hits O’Reilly’s side and deflects onto the inside of the post! Havertz, off balance, forces the loose ball towards goal and Khusanov blocks crucially.
Despite being under the pump, Arsenal have hit the post twice in the second half.
71 min Apart from those two near misses from Havertz and Eze, Arsenal have been on the back foot in the second half. Mikel Arteta needs to change something. Maybe it’s a job for Max Dowman.
70 min The second corner is half cleared to Doku, who mishits a left-foot shot well wide from a tight angle.
69 min Rodri’s long-range shot deflects over the bar. Cherki’s corner is headed behind for another.
68 min Hincapie shoves Haaland after another wrestling match with Gabriel. Haaland’s undershirt is ripped so he has to change it before play can resume.
Doku cut inside from the left and fed the underlapping O’Reilly, who calmly steered a speculative ball across the penalty area. Rodri distracted Hincapie at near post and Haaland held off Gabriel to clatter a left-foot shot past Raya.
It was a tremendous display of physical strength from Haaland because he and Gabriel were all over each other.
GOAL! Man City 2-1 Arsenal (Haaland 65)
Erling Haaland cracks City back in front!
64 min Eze was so close to adding another belter to his spectacular portfolio of goals. In that sense, he’s the Matthew Le Tissier des nos jours.
Incidentally, Guehi was booked for fouling Rice during the move that led to Havertz’s chance.
63 min “Accidentally found myself in an Arsenal pub for this game,” writes Rachel Clifton. “Very nervy place…. at least we have the mellifluous tones of Lee Dixon and Graeme Le Saux to calm them.”
It sounds weird but even if Arsenal lose this, they should take a lot of heart from their performance. Not even Banty McBanterface could accuse them of bottling it today.
61 min: Eze hits the post!
Eze receives the ball 20 yards from goal, swerves away from Khusanov and whips a thrilling left-foot curler that beats the diving Donnarumma, hits the inside of the post and flies across the face of goal. Goodness me, this is pulsating stuff.
59 min: Big save by Donnarumma!
A slick break from Arsenal ends with Odegaard putting Havertz through on goal with a short pass into the area. Havertz stretches to screw a shot that is superbly blocked by the outrushing Donnarumma. The follow-up – not sure who it was – dribbles towards the line and is cleared with time to spare by O’Reilly.
57 min “Well,” says Peter Oh, “I guess with that heavy touch and shambolic shipping of a goal, there goes the City and Italia keeper’s chance of earning the nickname Maradonnarumma.”
Talking of portmanteaus, I remain distressed that Arsenal’s march to the title in 2001-02 was never christened #Ljungbergkamp.
55 min I should have said that Martinelli has started on the right wing, which is where he was when he played that pass into Havertz. His pace could be important for Arsenal because they are struggling to get out.
53 min Martinelli shapes a fine early pass behind the City defence towards Havertz. Khusanov leans into him just outside the area and Havertz goes flying. He wants a foul – which would mean a red card for Khusanov – but Anthony Taylor plays on. It looked like a lean rather than a foul from Khusanov.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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