A clip of Anatoliy Trubin’s astonishing winner for Benfica against Real Madrid in midweek has just passed my eyes. One I imagine we’ll keep seeing for years and years.
Yesterday’s Champions League draw set up an instant rematch between the sides in the playoffs for a last-16 slot, while Newcastle have a 3,000-mile trip in store as they were drawn to face Qarabag.
David Moyes will, however, be without Jack Grealish both today, and – the manager expects – probably for the rest of the season as the on-loan winger recovers from a fractured foot.
Among the 3pm KOs in the Premier League today is Everton’s trip to Brighton. In the runup, Will Unwin caught up with the Blues’ French striker Thierno Barry …
AI fun for WSL fans – it’s been noted that various corners of the internet, Google very much included, appear to be listing Arsenal v Leicester as a 12.30pm KO today.
Not so. That fixture was postponed due to the Gunners’ participation in the Women’s Champions Cup (basically a Club World Cup under a different name). They stormed past AS Far on Wednesday with a 6-0 victory, and will face Corinthians in the final at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium tomorrow.
That’s a 6pm GMT kick-off, and will be preceded by Gotham v AS Far in the third-place playoff (2.45pm).
A date has yet to be announced for the Leicester fixture, and meanwhile Manchester United get a chance to swipe third spot from Arsenal as they host Liverpool tomorrow.
Updated
Transfer news: Luton's Makosso set for Oxford switch
Congolese defender Christ Makosso, who has racked up 15 appearances for Luton this season, is set to join Oxford.
A deal has been agreed for the 21-year-old to swap Kenilworth Road for the Kassam Stadium, and a medical is due to take place today.
There are no early KOs in the Premier League today, which offers Fantasy Premier League addicts a bit of extra time to (if you’re me) excessively tinker with their lineups. Today’s deadline to finalise your teams is 1.30pm GMT.
Personally, I’ve got Bruno Guimarães on the bench, so brace yourself for him scoring and assisting approx 14 goals later today.
For inspiration, here’s our always dead accurate predicted lineups for this weekend’s games.
Tomorrow … February (bad enough), but also 10 years precisely from the day Manchester City named Pep Guardiola as their incoming manager.
Please address any and all complaints re: the passage of time to your creator of choice where relevant.
And lastly from Friday’s late action – Lazio edged a five-goal thriller against Genoa 3-2 … with three of the goals coming via penalties.
And it went the distance too – with the match level deep, deep into stoppage time, Danilo Cataldi put away his spot-kick in the 100th minute to give his side the points. Leo Ostigard was the particularly heartbroken party, having handled in his area.
It proved a particularly sickening loss for Genoa, who had fought back from 2-0 down.
Serie A fixtures
All times GMT
Pisa v Sassuolo (2pm)
Napoli v Fiorentina (5pm)
Cagliari v Hellas Verona (7.45pm)
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inter Milan | 22 | 31 | 52 |
| 2 | AC Milan | 22 | 18 | 47 |
| 3 | Roma | 22 | 14 | 43 |
| 4 | Napoli | 22 | 11 | 43 |
| 5 | Juventus | 22 | 18 | 42 |
| 6 | Como | 22 | 21 | 40 |
| 7 | Atalanta | 22 | 10 | 35 |
| 8 | Lazio | 23 | 3 | 32 |
| 9 | Bologna | 22 | 5 | 30 |
| 10 | Udinese | 22 | -9 | 29 |
| 11 | Sassuolo | 22 | -4 | 26 |
| 12 | Cagliari | 22 | -7 | 25 |
| 13 | Cremonese | 22 | -9 | 23 |
| 14 | Parma | 22 | -12 | 23 |
| 15 | Torino | 22 | -19 | 23 |
| 16 | Genoa | 23 | -7 | 23 |
| 17 | Lecce | 22 | -16 | 18 |
| 18 | Fiorentina | 22 | -10 | 17 |
| 19 | Pisa | 22 | -19 | 14 |
| 20 | Verona | 22 | -19 | 14 |
Bundesliga table
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 19 | 56 | 50 |
| 2 | Borussia Dortmund | 19 | 21 | 42 |
| 3 | Hoffenheim | 19 | 18 | 39 |
| 4 | RB Leipzig | 19 | 12 | 36 |
| 5 | Stuttgart | 19 | 10 | 36 |
| 6 | Bayer Leverkusen | 18 | 10 | 32 |
| 7 | Freiburg | 19 | -1 | 27 |
| 8 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 19 | -3 | 27 |
| 9 | Union Berlin | 19 | -6 | 24 |
| 10 | Cologne | 20 | -3 | 23 |
| 11 | Borussia M'gladbach | 19 | -9 | 20 |
| 12 | Wolfsburg | 20 | -14 | 19 |
| 13 | Augsburg | 19 | -14 | 19 |
| 14 | Hamburg | 18 | -10 | 18 |
| 15 | Werder Bremen | 19 | -16 | 18 |
| 16 | Mainz | 19 | -11 | 15 |
| 17 | St Pauli | 19 | -15 | 14 |
| 18 | Heidenheim | 19 | -25 | 13 |
In Germany’s top tier there was also one game last night. Cologne pipped Wolfsburg 1-0 thanks to a first-half goal from Linton Maina. It leaves Die Wölfe looking over their shoulders. They sit 12th of 18 in the Bundesliga, but only four points above safety.
Bundesliga fixtures
All times 2.30pm GMT unless stated
Augsburg v St Pauli
Eintracht Frankfurt v Bayer Leverkusen
Hoffenheim v Union Berlin
RB Leipzig v Mainz
Werder Bremen v Borussia Mönchengladbach
Hamburg v Bayern Munich (5.30pm)
There was also a smattering of European action last night. In La Liga, Espanyol missed a chance to consolidate their high-flying position as they lost 2-1 at home to Alavés – they took the lead through Roberto Fernández in the 15th minute, but Antonio Blanco levelled 12 minutes later … and the points were secured when Lucas Boyé finished a counterattack from close range with 19 minutes remaining.
It means Espanyol go into the weekend fifth … but that defeat extended their winless run to five games.
La Liga fixtures
All times GMT
Real Oviedo v Girona (1pm)
Osasuna v Villarreal (3.15pm)
Levante v Atlético Madrid (5.30pm)
Elche v Barcelona (8pm)
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 21 | 35 | 52 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 21 | 28 | 51 |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | 21 | 21 | 44 |
| 4 | Villarreal | 20 | 16 | 41 |
| 5 | Espanyol | 22 | -1 | 34 |
| 6 | Real Betis | 21 | 7 | 32 |
| 7 | Celta Vigo | 21 | 6 | 32 |
| 8 | Real Sociedad | 21 | 0 | 27 |
| 9 | Osasuna | 21 | -1 | 25 |
| 10 | Alaves | 22 | -7 | 25 |
| 11 | Girona | 21 | -14 | 25 |
| 12 | Elche | 21 | 0 | 24 |
| 13 | Sevilla | 21 | -5 | 24 |
| 14 | Athletic Bilbao | 21 | -10 | 24 |
| 15 | Valencia | 21 | -11 | 23 |
| 16 | Rayo Vallecano | 21 | -11 | 22 |
| 17 | Getafe | 21 | -11 | 22 |
| 18 | Mallorca | 21 | -9 | 21 |
| 19 | Levante | 20 | -10 | 17 |
| 20 | Oviedo | 21 | -23 | 13 |
That left the Championship picture looking like this …
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coventry | 29 | 29 | 58 |
| 2 | Middlesbrough | 29 | 17 | 55 |
| 3 | Ipswich | 28 | 21 | 50 |
| 4 | Hull | 28 | 7 | 50 |
| 5 | Millwall | 29 | 1 | 49 |
| 6 | Derby | 30 | 7 | 45 |
| 7 | Wrexham | 29 | 6 | 44 |
| 8 | Watford | 28 | 6 | 43 |
| 9 | Bristol City | 30 | 4 | 43 |
| 10 | Preston North End | 29 | 3 | 43 |
| 11 | Stoke | 29 | 8 | 42 |
| 12 | QPR | 29 | -2 | 40 |
| 13 | Birmingham | 29 | 1 | 39 |
| 14 | Leicester | 29 | -3 | 38 |
| 15 | Southampton | 29 | 0 | 37 |
| 16 | Swansea | 29 | -5 | 36 |
| 17 | Sheff Utd | 28 | -2 | 35 |
| 18 | Norwich | 29 | -4 | 33 |
| 19 | Charlton | 28 | -11 | 32 |
| 20 | West Brom | 29 | -12 | 32 |
| 21 | Portsmouth | 27 | -13 | 30 |
| 22 | Blackburn | 28 | -11 | 29 |
| 23 | Oxford Utd | 28 | -9 | 27 |
| 24 | Sheff Wed | 28 | -38 | -7 |
Friday match report: Derby hit five at Bristol City
Derby thrashed Bristol City 5-0 at Ashton Gate to leapfrog their opponents and move into the Championship playoff places.
First-half goals from Rhian Brewster, Ben Brereton Diaz and Bobby Clark were added to by Patrick Agyemang and Lars-Jørgen Salvesen as the rampant Rams recorded a third win in four games.
The visitors took a 13th-minute lead when Callum Elder’s cross from the left found Brewster unmarked to send a low right-footed volley past Radek Vitek from a 12 yards out.
Before City could recover, they were caught playing out from the back and Clark’s pass set up Brereton Diaz, who drove home a 16th-minute shot through a defender’s legs from a narrow angle.
And it was 3-0 after 36 minutes as a fast Derby break saw Brereton Diaz supply the pass from the right to send Clark racing through a non-existent City back-line before coolly slotting past the exposed Vitek with his left foot.
Derby continued to dominate after the break and the fourth goal came in the 66th minute when Agyemang comprehensively outjumped George Tanner to head in.
Rams boss John Eustace had the luxury of substituting all four of his goalscorers in the closing stages, giving a debut to new signing Jaydon Banel, on loan from Burnley, and sending on former City player Andreas Weimann among the substitutes.
Salvesen completed the rout when he turned in Weimann’s cross from inside the six-yard box two minutes from time. PA Media
A busy, buzzy day in England’s second tier is in prospect. After an eye-catching result last night (of which more shortly), five of the top six are in action.
Table-topping Coventry will be hoping Loftus Road proves a fruitful road trip, while second-placed Boro host a perplexing Norwich side who are down in 18th … but on a run of four wins in all competitions as they enjoy a delayed new-manager bounce under Philippe Clement.
Want to stay abreast of the three early games? Stick around.
Championship fixtures
(3pm unless stated, all times GMT)
Leicester v Charlton (12.30pm)
Sheffield Wednesday v Wrexham (12.30pm)
Stoke v Southampton (12.30pm)
Blackburn v Hull
Ipswich v Preston
Middlesbrough v Norwich
Millwall v Sheffield United
Oxford United v Birmingham
Portsmouth v West Brom
QPR v Coventry
Watford v Swansea
No early game in the Premier League today … but plenty of interest in affairs at the top, middle-but-ambitious and bottom.
Premier League fixtures
(3pm unless stated, all times GMT)
Brighton v Everton
Leeds v Arsenal
Wolves v Bournemouth
Chelsea v West Ham (5.30pm)
Liverpool v Newcastle (8pm)
Preamble
Happy Saturday everyone! Another festival of football is on the way, with early Championship action a-comin’, all the way through to Liverpool v Newcastle in today’s 8pm GMT game.
Meanwhile there’s a transfer window flapping open in the breeze, and managers have been chinwagging with varying degrees of satisfaction about their current lot.
On your way to a game today? Let us know! Don’t feel up to speed with where things are this weekend? We’ll put that right as we go. Stand by …
