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Manchester City 2-1 West Ham, Brentford 1-0 Everton: Premier League – as it happened

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Manchester City went second, Jamie Vardy scored twice as Leicester beat Watford, and Everton are now without a win in seven

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Sun 28 Nov 2021 11.37 ESTFirst published on Sun 28 Nov 2021 07.50 EST
Fernandinho celebrates Manchester City’s second goal.
Fernandinho celebrates Manchester City’s second goal. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
Fernandinho celebrates Manchester City’s second goal. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images

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Kári Tulinius is back: “This probably comes in too late but … PSG were set up really oddly. Honestly, it was a bit like 1958 Brazil’s 4-2-4. But it worked.”

Yup, it should against most teams. I can’t see them winning big ears, but.

Michael Carrick explains that he’s left out Ronaldo to freshen things up and because of his tactical plan; he says Ronaldo took the news well. He won’t reveal whether he’s playing three at the back or a diamond, but I assume the latter.

Full-time: Manchester City 2-1 West Ham United

City go above Liverpool and level on points with Chelsea, who play Man United in 28 minutes; West Ham stay fourth.

WHAT A GOAL! Manchester City 2-1 West Ham (Lanzini 90+5)

West Ham enjoy decent possession down the left without looking threatening, but then Fernandinho dwells on the ball, Lanzini sneaks up behind, pokes it away, then once it bounces, he swivels to hammer a belting finish just inside the near post and in off the bar! Wow!

Pick that out! Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images/Reuters
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“Deeney!” emails Ray. “Truly a wonderful clip. There’s nothing quite like an announcer getting caught up in a great moment and losing all abandon.”

There isn’t. I’m not sure I’ve seen anything like that, in the 38 years I’ve been watching this thing of ours.

Full-time: Leicester City 4-2 Watford

Watford stay 16th, Leicester move up to ninth, Jamie Vardy is good.

GOAL! Manchester City 2-0 West Ham (Fernandinho 90)

That settles it! City take a short corner, Mahrez waving feet over the ball, and though West Ham win it back, they lose it agains very quickly, Bernardo sending Jesus into the box, and he cuts back for Fernandinho to plant a low shot past Fabianski.

Fernandinho wraps up the points for City. Photograph: Peter Powell/Reuters
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Full-time: Brentford 1-0 Everton

Seven without a win now for Everton, who are now 14th, while Brentford move up to 12th.

In the final minute of injury-time at Brenford, it’s the home side pushing for 2-0, rather than the visitors looking like saving themselves.

Goodness me, Leicester v Watford has been going 93 minutes and I’ve still not posted this. Please accept my urgent apologies.

Sky give Brentford’s Ivan Toney man of the match, and that seems fair from what I’ve seen. He’s been a constant threat, and the dismissive disregard of his penalty was to die for.

Jamie Vardy is hat-trick hunting, leathering a shot that Cathcart blocks – inadvertently I think. We’re into the final minute, while at Brentford we’ve played one of five extra ones. At City, it’s seven to go.

One of the advantages of being a possession team, as Man City are, is that they’re able to disappear time extremely effectively. West Ham just can’t build a head of steam.

All this talk of toes and inside thighs; Soyuncu has just worn an Ndidi drive in the chopsHe spends a fair old while lying in the snurr, but he’s up and about now.

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Back on the pitch, Everton are huffing and puffing, but that’s about it. Gray, on for Townsend, has just had a speculative cross cleared, but that’s about it.

Photograph: Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images
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“As an Everton supporter,” emails Eric Peterson, “the biggest thing testing my patience is other Everton supporters either unable or just simply too lazy to look past Rafa Benitez as the cause of their distress. He has had virtually no funds to build the team in any way that suits him, leaving him with a hodgepodge of players and contracts signed by his many recent predecessors. He’s had to deal with not only the long list of injured players but also the response to it that led to him hiring a new medical director. What ails Everton goes far deeper than the face we see in the technical area on game day. Let’s look for Everton to solve the actual problems that face them rather than just vent our frustrations against a manager who happened to lead the club across town many years ago - who, by his track record, deserves much better from us.”

This is all very rational and sensible ... which is polar opposite of English football.

David Moyes sends on Bowen for Masuaku; he’s already replaced Cresswell and Benrahma with Coufal and Lanzini.

I’ve been a little disappointed with what I’ve seen of West Ham this afternoon. Obviously City are brutal to play against, but I thought they’d be caused more problems than has been the case.

“Ranieri’s appointment at Watford is turning out to be a gift to the league,” emails Kári Tulinius. “Pretty much every game since he arrived has been great fun. His legacy didn’t need burnishing after 2016, but he’s certainly not doing it any harm at the moment.”

I love how addicted he and his ilk are to the game.

Teams at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea: Mendy, Chalobah, Silva, Rudiger, James, Alonso, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Ziyech, Hudson-Odoi, Werner. Subs: Kepa, Christensen, Lukaku, Pulisic, Niguez, Barkley, Mount, Azpilicueta, Havertz.

Man United: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Bailly, Telles, Fred, Matic, McTominay, Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford. Subs: Henderson, Jones, Ronaldo, Mata, Martial, Greenwood, Lingard, Dalot, Van de Beek.

Or, put another way, Michael Carrick os having a laugh. First he leaves out Bruno and Rashford, now he’s leaving out Ronaldo and playing a diamond. He’s enjoying himself!

“At full-strength Everton is a mid-table team,” reckons Mary Waltz, “possibly a Europa squad. Without DCL, Richarlison, and losing the player whose name cannot be spoken, they are so offensively challenged that expectations for this season are reduced to nothing. When you are counting on Rondon and Townsend for scoring you are in trouble.”

Agree. I just imagine the hardcore are unreplete with patience for Benitez.

GOAL! Leicester City 4-2 Watford (Lookman 68)

Castagne wins a nasty challenge with Masina – he’ll do well to get away with that, imparting studs to foot and knee to midriff – then Barnes nips into the box and forces the ball square for Lookman, who taps home.

Ademola Lookman adds a fourth for the Foxes. Photograph: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
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There’s a ruckus at Brentford, everything that no one wants to see, not even all the people who’re desperate to see it. Canos goes in the back of Coleman Jansson is booked for scuffling with Rondon – that would be an extremely intriguing scrap.

Jesus has just missed a really good chance to put City two-up, a very good counter ending with Sterling crossing low into his path. But just when he thinks he’s going to score, Fabianski gets to his feet and does enough to block.

GOAL! Leicester 3-2 Watford (Dennis 61)

Dennis barges Castagne off the ball – the defender has to be stronger there – skids through and lifts a lovely finish over Schmeichel. There’s a check for a foul, but it looked an excellent challenge to me and the goal stands.

Emmanuel Dennis pulls one back for Watford. Photograph: Tim Goode/PA
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The liveliest stuff is now coming at Brentford, the least that way in the first half. In fairness, the snow is having its way elsewhere, and at Leicester Maddison shoots from distance, the ball skipping awkwardly off the surface and flying wide.

“The players chugging around, passing the ball absentmindedly and having to keep warm outside in the freezing cold until their pitch is ready has a wonderful Sunday league feel to it,” says Hugo Molloy, and I couldn’t agree more. The best thing about being cold at the game is the hope that the players are colder.

Photograph: Matt McNulty - Manchester City/Manchester City FC/Getty Images
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Everton have created very little at Brentford, and you get the feeling it won’t be long before things turn toxic if he can’t fashion a swift improvement. As I write that, though, Rondon has a shot blocked and Coleman crosses behind everyone, so perhaps they’re stepping it up.

“There’s not much happening so I did some more looking,” returns Dave Manby.

“The Premier League’s rules are suitably vague enough to mean that clubs can get away without underfloot heating, should they not wish to go to the expense of getting it installed when there’s no guarantee that they’ll remain in the top-flight for very long.

The English Football League’s rulebook states: ‘Each Home Club shall provide full pitch frost covers and/or under soil heating (the specification of which shall meet the reasonable satisfaction of The League) which shall be operated to the extent necessary to procure, so far as it is reasonably possible, that the pitch is playable on the
occasion of each match’.

The Premier League has similar wording in its rulebook, stating that pitches need undersoil heating or ‘some other adequate system of pitch protection to the reasonable satisfaction of the board’. But what exactly classes as an ‘adequate system’ is not something that is set in stone.

Back in 2006 matches at Ewood Park and Bolton’s Reebok Stadium were abandoned after a heavy frost and a Premier League spokesman confirmed that the matter would be investigated as ‘It is a specific rule in the Premier League that clubs must have undersoil heating’. Yet when Blackpool had to abandon three matches in 2010 due to temperatures reaching minus nine overnight their club secretary said, ‘It is not a
Premier League regulation [to have undersoil heating]’.

However when Bournemouth gained promotion to the top-flight in 2015 they opted against developing parts of the ground and decided to install undersoil heating instead. This was because they felt the Premier League had ‘strict rules’ regarding such things. The wording may be vague but what does seem clear is that the Premier League rules seem to suggest it’s up to you what type of system you have in place but you better not
need to call a game off because your pitch is frozen…”

Thanks very much for that. I recall a game i was meant to be doing to, in December 2010, between Chelsea and Man United, that Chelsea got postponed a day or two in advance, though there was very little snow. They weren’t in great shape prior to that game, I seem to recall.

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