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Bolton Wanderers v Stockport County: League One playoff final – live | League One
Key events
30 min: Bailey cuts inside from the right and floats a cross into the box. With his back to goal, Sidibeh flicks it towards the target with the back of his head, sending the ball into the bottom-left corner.
A very well-worked goal from Stockport.
GOAL! Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Stockport County (Adama Sidibeh, 29)
Sidibeh strikes again! This one will surely count!
28 min: The free kick is taken but cleared by the first man in the Bolton defensive line.
27 min: The players are back on and Stockport have a free kick on the right side…
24 min: Time for a quick water break!
21 min: A long ball is sent wide to Cozier-Duberry, but Addai comes out of his box to get there first and head it clear.
18 min: Stockport have a corner. The ball is crossed into the box and Sidibeh heads it back across goal. Wooton looks to flick it towards the target but his effort is saved with ease.
15 min: Bailey goes for an audacious strike from distance, but it flies over the crossbar.
GOAL DISALLOWED: Bolton Wanderers 1-0 Stockport County
Yep, it’s a foul. Sidibeh appeared to accidentally trip Johnston while making the run. The goal does not stand.
Bolton still lead 1-0 in this Wembley final. It’s certainly been a lively start!
12 min: Hold on… there is a VAR review. It’s checking for a potential foul on Johnston from Sidibeh in the build-up to the goal.
GOAL! Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Stockport County (Adama Sidibeh, 11)
Sidibeh runs onto a long ball to equalise for Stockport!
7 min: Stockport just appeared to give the Bolton players a bit too much time and space there in the build-up to that goal. They cannot afford another lapse of concentration.
4 min: Gale cuts inside from the left and goes for a long-distance strike from distance. Addai gets down to make the stop but parries the ball instead of claiming it. Burstow pounces and squares a pass to Rodrigues in front of the target, who fires his shot home.
What a start!
GOAL! Bolton Wanderers 1-0 Stockport County (Rúben Rodrigues, 3)
What a start for Bolton! Rodrigues breaks the deadlock within three minutes!
1 min: Stockport break forward early as a low cross is sent into the box from the right. However, it’s cleared by Johnston.
Kick-off
We’re under way at Wembley Stadium!
The teams are out! Kick-off is just a few moments away!
Some match facts for you…
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Stockport County are bidding to reach the Championship for the first time since the 2001-02 campaign.
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This is the sixth time that Bolton Wanderers have reached the play-off finals across the Championship and League One.
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Stockport have won three of their past four games against Bolton.
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Stockport have won just one of their seven matches at Wembley Stadium, having lost five during that time.
Team news
Bolton starting line-up: Jack Bonham; Jordi Osei-Tutu, Chris Forino, George Johnston, Max Conway; Josh Sheehan, Xavier Simons; Amario Cozier-Duberry, Rúben Rodrigues, Thierry Gale; Mason Burstow.
Subs: Cyrus Christie, Ibrahim Cissoko, Sam Dalby, Kyle Dempsey, Ethan Erhahon, David Harrington, John McAtee.
Stockport starting line-up: Corey Addai; Josh Dacres-Cogley, Kyle Wootton, Ethan Pye, Tayo Edun; Odin Bailey, Oliver Norwood, Ben Osborn; Josh Stokes, Adama Sidibeh, Louie Barry.
Subs: Benoný Breki Andrésson, Callum Connolly, Jack Diamond, Lewis Fiorini, Ben Hinchliffe, Malik Mothersille, Tanto Olaofe.
Preamble
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to coverage of the League One play-off final. The sun is shining and Wembley is looking absolutely glorious. Bolton Wanderers face Stockport County under the world-famous arch for a place in the Championship this afternoon.
Join us as we guide you through the action.
Kick-off is at 1pm BST – the countdown is on!
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French Open 2026: Raducanu v Sierra; Zverev eases through on day one at Roland Garros – live | French Open 2026
Key events
And she’s broken again, now down 0-6 1-3 to Sierra. She’ll do well to get out of this one, and though we might argue that, having won a major, she’s done more than anyone ever thought possible, it does feel like she’s letting her career run away from her. A clear run of fitness isn’t something she can control, but settling with a coach and trusting them would, I think, help her a lot.
Solidarity, Raducanu-style.
He makes his way to net, doesn’t do enough with his volley … and Pavlovic nets! Fonseca leads 7-6!
I’ve ducked off Raducanu for a moment as Fonseca leads Pavlovic 7-6 in their first-set tiebreak…
She said don’t cry till you finish the tournament but she’s been through a lot this year and this is her favourite surface. At the start, Haddad Maia used her experience, going for stuff and playing more aggressively, but she found her way in, though she reckons she looks like a tomato in the weather. And, er, that’s it.
Raducanu is on the board against Sierra, trailing 0-6 1-1, but forget here for a minute because here’s Fran!
Basavareddy leads Fritz 5-4 in the breaker, and a terrific point, serve-volleyed then finished with a spinning backhand at net, means he has set point … spurned with a slightly wild backhand, swiped long. Oh, but then Fritz opens a lane to go down the line on backhand … overhitting! The 21-year-old leads 7-6, the number 7y seed with a match on his hand!
Oh man, this is awesome. Jones, almost in tears at match point, runs to the crowd and hugs a woman I presume is her mum – imagine the pride and gratefulness here. They’ll have dreamed of this moment together for so many years, all the sacrifices and miles travelled, and in one overwhelming afternoon, she’s made it all worthwhile. Well done both of them.
Fran Jones beats Bea Haddad Maia 1-6 7-6(4) 6-2
Wow! An incredible win for Jones, her first in a slam, and after losing the first set so resoundingly, against a player who’s made the last four of this competition. Next for her: Bouzkova.
Basavareddy holds to 15, forcing a first-set breaker against Fritz, while Jones has 30-40 and match point against Haddad Maia!
Jones holds quicksmart and is now a game away from her maiden grand slam win; Fonseca leads Pavlovic 6-5 in the first, on serve, as Fritz does Basavareddy.
Sierra closes out a bagel set against Raducanu, who didn’t manage a single winner in it. Can she build on … nothing? Back with Jones, she’s just broken Haddad Maia, now up 4-2 in set three, and the biggest win of her career is but two holds away. Which makes securing it sound much easier than it is.
Raducanu just can’t get it going; she trails Sierra 5-0 in the first, but will know that, though this set is gone, she’s good enough to do something in the second. Back on 14, Jones leads Haddad Maia 3-2 in the third.
On Court Six, Federico Cina, an Italian qualifier, leads Reilly Opelka, a political philosopher, 4-2 in the fifth, while on Mathieu, Fonseca and Pavlovic are 4-4 in the first.
Raducanu hasn’t played much lately, a lone I should save somewhere, having been ill, and Sierra breaks her, consolidates, then breaks her again. She leads 3-0, but at 0-30, perhaps Raducanu is appearing into the match.
Elsewhere, Fritz leads Basavareddy 4-3 on serve and, as I type, Jones breaks Haddad Maia back for 2-2 in the third.
While we’re here, I’m sure you’ll all join me in celebrating one of life’s great coincidences … or not. Happy birthday Bob Dylan, 85 today, and happy birthday Eric Cantona, 60 today. How lucky we are to live in their time.
She was really happy to play on Chatrier and on day one. She’s practised against Forro a lot, so expected a tough game, and is, of course, “super-happy” with the win.
Sometimes she gets tense, but today told herself that whatever happens happens and even after sending down three doubles, told herself it’s not easy to come back and if her opponent does, good for her. It’s always special to be in Paris and she’s hoping to do better than last year.
I’d not be remotely shocked if Haddad Maia’s consolidation game chugs through numerous deuces but, in the meantime, let’s look at the Mirra.
Mirra Andreeva (8) beats Fiona Ferro 6-3 6-3
She looked great too – against limited opposition, it’s fair to say. Next for her: Bsssols Ribera or Arango.
Haddad Maia breaks Jones immediately in set three, but then finds herself down 30-40 – no one familiar with her oeuvre will be surprised – nor that she quickly gained deuce with two big forehands.
Fritz and Basavareddy are settling in on Lenglen, the no 7 seed up 2-1 on serve. Clay is far from his favourite surface, and his 21-year-old compatriot will fancy himself – he’s a percentage player, keeping the ball in play because he lacks big power to finish points, which might just work for him in this matchup, on this surface. Other hand, the weather makes the clay more like a hard court, so Fritz’s power could be more effective than is ordinarily the case.
That being the case, I’m going to watch their third set, I’m swapping Andreeva for Fritz v Basavareddy, and I’m also on Raducanu v Sierra.
Now then! I can’t lie, I sort of assumed she was done, but Fran Jones has just levelled against Haddad Maia, winning a second-set breaker to four, forcing a decider in the process.
Next on Court 13: Emma Raducanu v Solana Sierra.
The men’s no 23 seed has gone, Nuno Borges dealing with Tomas Martin Etcheverry 3,4 and 2. Next for borges: Miomir Kecmanovic.
The highest-ranked seed in Fonseca’s eighth is Djokovic, with Ruud also there; in the section he’d meet the winner of the last eight, there’s Rublev, who he beat in Australia, and De Minaur.
Elsewhere, Joao Fonseca, seeded 28, is under way against Luka Pavlovic, a French qualifier. He’s another ridiculous talent who has every chance of winning a slam one day, and will want to improve on last year’s third round appearance.
And, as I type, Andreeva breaks Ferro to lead 6-3 2-1. She’s nearly there.
Mirra Andreeva, who might face Baptiste in the last eight, has taken the first set against Ferro 6-3, and as ever, the question is whether she’s now ready to push into a grand slam final. She made the last four here in 2024, only to lose 3 and 1 in a winnable match against Paolini – who was then gubbed 2 and 1 by Swiatek in the final – but she’s a more mature player now. Does she, though, have the power, or the smarts to do without the power, to beat the elite when it really matters?
Next on Lenglen: Taylor Feritz (7) v Nishesh Basavareddy.
Baptiste says it’s not easy to come back when you’re down match points, but it was a mental and physical battle, so she’s really pleased to come through. She knew that being mad with herself or negative isn’t going to help, so her mentality was to do what it took to win the match.
She had to save match points when she beat Sabalenka too, and is using that experience to push her through but, before then, she’s two days off in which she plans to shop, her favourite pastime in any city.
Hailey Baptiste (26) beats Barbora Krejcikova (7)6-7 7-6(6) 6-2
We said this looked like the match of the day and, though it took a while to get going, it did not let us down. Next for her: Xiy Wang.
And serving for the match, she races to 40-0, pressure resting easily on her very, very serious shoulders…
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West Ham v Leeds, Champions League battle, Arsenal to lift trophy and Guardiola’s goodbye: Premier League finale – live | Premier League
Here’s a report on Bolton’s League One play-off final victory over Stockport. I thought the late VAR red card and penalty was complete rubbish, but the game was won by then.
With Sam Dalby’s second-half overhead kick, Bolton could start to plan their return to the Championship, a division they left in 2019 as a club in turmoil. After administration, last-minute sales, emergency loans, points deductions and a spell in League Two, they have found their way back.
Stockport, themselves a club on the rise following financial trouble that took them down to the sixth tier, were game opponents in Bolton’s second League One playoff final in three years but were overpowered at Wembley. With the score level at 1-1 after an hour, Steven Schumacher sent on Sam Dalby and by the 81st minute the substitute had stretched Bolton’s lead to 3-1 with a picture-book goal. Rúben Rodrigues’s late penalty against 10 men added gloss to the scoreline.
Much more here:
Guardiola: ‘The future will be better without me’
Pep Guardiola has a chat with Sky:
I’m good. Trying to focus on the game. It’s not easy, with many things happening around it. Not just me, Bernardo and John and some people from the staff. But yeah, try to enjoy, with my family, and an amount of people that I love.
There’s a football game, and we don’t want to make a bad last game. I’d have loved to have the chance today to play against Arsenal, but there are a lot of things around.
And on whether this is absolutely, definitely, the time to leave:
Now is the time, I’m pretty sure. Once we announced I thought, maybe I was wrong. The past has been really good with us, but the future will be better without me. You have to have a special energy..
“We can be niggly, we can be horrible, we can play different types of football, and we’ll have to show all of those attributes today,” says Brentford’s Keith Andrews of his side’s challenge at Anfield.
Could this sign hold the answer to the mystery of Mikel Arteta’s disappearing grey kecks?
“You never know when we’ll have a chance like we have today, to fight for a Champions League spot,” says Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola. “We should be aware of all the things that are happening on other pitches but we cannot lose focus. It won’t be easy, playing Forest away, last game. We have to play very well if we want the right result.”
Interesting Spurs line-up, that, with Pedro Porro predicted to start on the right wing with England’s Djed Spence at right-back, and the absolutely-dreadful-every-time-I’ve-seen-him Randal Kolo Muani taking his rightful place on the bench. They can only be stronger as a result.
An email! Um, about Mikel Arteta’s trousers! “On what we all knew would be the Arsenal manager’s red-letter day, Arteta has surprised us all by changing his trousers and making it instead a black-trouser day,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “Two observations: The grey ones were certainly overdue a wash and probably a stitch or two after another stressful season. And wouldn’t it be nice if he’d just sit down for this game and let his players enjoy themselves playing football?” This is the level of attention to (irrelevant) detail I’m looking for, well played.
“We’ve analysed them and attackers are crucial for getting a result against them,” says Arne Slot of Brentford, explaining his decision to start Mo Salah in the Egyptian’s final game for Liverpool.
All the teams (eventually)
The teams have all been named and filed, and I’m sticking them in here. You may need to refresh to see the later additions.
Brighton v Manchester United
Brighton: Verbruggen, Milner, Van Hecke, Dunk, De Cuyper, Gross, Wiefer, Kadioglu, Hinshelwood, Gomez, Welbeck. Subs: Steele, March, Rutter, Minteh, Baleba, Kostoulas, Boscagli, O’Reilly Veltman.
Manchester United: Lammens, Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw, Mount, Mainoo, Amad, Bruno Fernandes, Dorgu, Mbeumo. Subs: Bayindir, Cunha, Zirkzee, Malacia, Yoro, Ugarte, Heaven, Fletcher, Lacey.
Referee: Sam Barrott. Assistants: Simon Bennett, Blake Antrobus. Fourth official: Ruebyn Ricardo. VAR: Stuart Attwell. Assistant VAR: Steve Meredith.
Burnley v Wolves
Burnley: Weiss, Walker, Tuanzebe, Ugochukwu, Anthony, Humphreys, Florentino, Tchaouna, Flemming, Pires, Mejbri. Subs: Dubravka, Bruun Larsen, Edwards, Roberts, Ekdal, Ward-Prowse, Amdouni, Laurent, Barnes.
Wolves: Sa, Mosquera, Santiago Bueno, Krejci, Wolfe, Rodrigo Gomes, Andre, Angel Gomes, Mane, Hwang, Armstrong. Subs: Bentley, Lima, Tchatchoua, Toti, Hugo Bueno, Sutherland, Abbey, Edozie, Arokodare.
Referee: Andrew Kitchen. Assistants: Wade Smith, Andrew Dallison. Fourth official: Adam Herczeg. VAR: Constantine Hatzidakis. Assistant VAR: Neil Davies.
Crystal Palace v Arsenal
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Munoz, Clyne, Lerma, Riad, Cardines, Hughes, Kamada, Devenny, Sarr, Strand Larsen. Subs: Benitez, Lacroix, Mitchell, Pino, Johnson, Mateta, Wharton, Canvot, Guessand.
Arsenal: Arrizabalaga, Zubimendi, Mosquera, Hinapie, Calafiori, Norgaard, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman, Madueke, Martinelli, Jesus. Subs: Setford, Gyokeres, Gabriel, Saka, Odegaard, Eze, Merino, Havertz, Rice.
Referee: Farai Hallam. Assistants: Marc Perry, Mat Wilkes. Fourth official: Tom Nield. VAR: Nick Hopton. Assistant VAR: Craig Taylor.
Fulham v Newcastle
Fulham: Leno, Castagne, Diop, Bassey, Robinson, Berge, Iwobi, Bobb, Smith Rowe, Kevin, Muniz. Subs: Lecomte, Tete, Cuenca, Sessegnon, Reed, Cairney, King, Wilson, Jimenez.
Newcastle: Pope, Hall, Thiaw, Botman, Burn, Guimaraes, Tonali, Murphy, Woltemade, Ramsey, Osula. Subs: Ramsdale, Trippier, Wissa, Gordon, Barnes, Elanga, Willock, A.Murphy, Neave.
Referee: Rob Jones. Assistants: Nick Greenhalgh, Sian Massey-Ellis. Fourth official: Sam Allison. VAR: James Bell. Assistant VAR: Peter Wright.
Liverpool v Brentford
Liverpool: Alisson; Jones, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Ngumoha; Gakpo. Subs: Mamardashvili, Gomez, Endo, Kerkez, Wirtz, Isak, Chiesa, Frimpong, Nyoni.
Brentford: Kelleher; Kayode, Van den Berg, Collins, Lewis-Potter; Janelt, Henderson, Jensen; Ouattara, Thiago, Schade. Subs: Valdimarsson, Hickey, Pinnock, Dasilva, Nelson, Ajer, Damsgaard, Donovan, Furo.
Referee: Darren England. Assistants: Scott Ledger, Akil Howson. Fourth official: Tom Kirk. VAR: Tony Harrington. Assistant VAR: Adrian Holmes.
Manchester City v Aston Villa
Manchester City: Trafford; Lewis, Stones, Ruben Dias, Ake; Savinho, Reijnders, Gonzalez, Bernardo Silva; Semenyo, Foden. Subs: Ait-Nouri, Bettinelli, Cherki, Doku, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Alleyne, Marmoush, Nunes.
Aston Villa: Bizot; Garcia, Lindelof, Mings, Maatsen; Bailey, Bogarde, Barjkley, Buendia; Douglas Luiz; Watkins. Subs: Burrowes, Cash, Digne, Pau Torres, Hemmings, McGinn, Onana, Tielemens, Wright.
Referee: Andy Madley. Assistants: Richard West, Simon Long. Fourth official: David Webb. VAR: Tim Wood. Assistant VAR: Jarred Gillett.
Nottingham Forest v Bournemouth
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Jair Cunha, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams, Sangare, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Hutchinson. Jesus. Wood. Subs: Ortega; Awoniyi, Ndoye, Dominguez, Yates, McAtee, Netz, Abbott, Sillah.
Bournemouth: Petrovic, Hill, Sensi, Smith, Truffert, Adams, Scott, Tavernier, Kroupi, Rayan, Evanilson. Subs: Mandas, Cook, Toth, Diakite, Brooks, Unal, Kluivert, Adli, Gannon-Doak.
Referee: Craig Pawson. Assistants: Lee Betts, Alistair Nelson. Fourth official: Gavin Ward. VAR: Paul Howard. Assistant VAR: Natalie Aspinall.
Sunderland v Chelsea
Sunderland: Roefs, Geertruida, Mukiele, O’Nien, Mandova, Xhaka, Sadiki, Hume, Le Fee, Angulo, Brobbey. Subs: Ellborg, Alderete, Cirkin, Mayenda, Rigg, Diarra, Traore, Isador, Ta Bi.
Chelsea: Sanchez, Fofana, Colwill, Hato, Gusto, Caicedo, Fernandez, Cucurella, Palmer, Neto, Joao Pedro. Subs: Jorgensen, Acheampong, Chalobah, James, Derry, Essugo, Santos, Garnacho, Delap.
Referee: Chis Kavanagh. Assistants: Dan Cook, Ian Hussin. Fourth official: Lewis Smith. VAR: Matthew Donohue. Assistant VAR: Eddie Smart.
Tottenham v Everton
Tottenham: Kinsky; Spence, Danso, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Joao Palhinha; Porro, Gallagher, Tel; Richarlison. Subs: Bergvall, Bissouma, Dragusin, Gray, Kolo Muani, Maddison, Sarr, Solanke, Vicario.
Everton: Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Garner, Iroegbunam; Rohl, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Barry. Subs: Alcaraz, Armstrong, Aznou, Coleman, Dibling, George, Beto, McNeil, Travers.
Referee: Michael Oliver (pictured). Assistants: Stuart Burt, James Mainwaring. Fourth official: Bobby Madley. VAR: Paul Tierney. Assistant VAR: Mark Scholes.
West Ham United v Leeds United
West Ham: Hermansen; Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Disasi, Diouf; Soucek, Mateus Fernandes; Bowen, Pablo, Summervilla; Castellanos. Subs: Areola, Kante, Kilman, Lamadrid, Magassa, Potts, Scarles, Wan-Bissaka, Wilson.
Leeds: Darlow; Bogle, Rodon, Bijol, Struijk, Justin; Ampadu, Nmecha, Tanaka; Calvert-Lewin, Aaronson. Subs: Bornauw, Buonanotte, Byram, Chadwick, Cresswell, Perri, Gnonto, James, Piroe.
Referee: Anthony Taylor. Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn. Fourth official: Steve Martin. VAR: John Brooks. Assistant VAR: Dan Robathan.
Today’s top-flight fixtures in full:
Brighton v Manchester United
Burnley v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Crystal Palace v Arsenal
Fulham v Newcastle
Liverpool v Brentford
Manchester City v Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest v Bournemouth
Sunderland v Chelsea
Tottenham v Everton
West Ham United v Leeds United
Hello world!
So, today is the day. No more procrastination, an end to doubt and vacillation. The single remaining relegation spot is by a margin the most significant position to be decided, and the crux of it is this: West Ham will go down if they don’t beat Leeds at home. They will also go down if Tottenham beat Everton at home, or if Spurs draw and West Ham win by fewer than 12 (twelve) goals. (The biggest margin of victory in the history of the Premier League is 9-0; in the history of the entire Football League there have been four victories by a margin big enough to save West Ham should Spurs win today, the most recent 80 years ago).
Meanwhile, though we know that Arsenal will finish first, Manchester City second and Manchester United third, no other position in the entire league is already determined. Liverpool need a point to seal a Champions League place, but if they beat Brentford at home and fourth-placed Aston Villa lose at Manchester City they would go to fourth, Villa drop to fifth and, thanks to Villa’s Europa League victory, a sixth Champions League spot will open up.
Bournemouth need a point at Nottingham Forest to be sure of finishing sixth, but if they lose Brighton would overtake them if they beat Manchester United at home. Chelsea need to beat Sunderland to be sure of European football, and Sunderland need to beat Chelsea if they are to have a chance of qualification themselves. If they draw Brentford would leapfrog Chelsea with a win at Anfield, but the point would still take Chelsea above Brighton if the Seagulls lose by at least two goals. A draw wouldn’t do Sunderland any good at all, and there will be no last-day gifts for them: if the Premier League gets an extra Champions League spot they will not also get an extra place in the Europa League. That whole seventh-to-10th area of the table is essentially a bit complicated.
And at the bottom, Burnley host Wolves in a wooden spoon playoff.
Meanwhile, Arsenal will be presented with their trophy after the final whistle at Selhurst Park, when Oliver Glasner will also wave goodbye to the home fans, while Pep Guardiola will bid farewell to the Etihad after City’s game against Villa and Andoni Iraola will take charge of Bournemouth for the final time. Mo Salah and Andy Robertson will play at Anfield for the final time (for Liverpool, at least).
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