Saturday Morning with a Bang!
At 10 am, my eye will be firmly on Elland Road, where my beloved Leeds need another big win against Reading today to keep up with the West Broms and the trailing pack. Then we finish with 2nd v. 3rd as Leicester take on Man Citeh at Filbert Street.
Join me for all of the explosive Saturday action, won't you?
posted by The Blue Devil @ 7:23 AM
562 Comments:
It’s fair to say Chelsea have the upper hand in this fixture: Tottenham Hotspur have won it once in the last 30 years. Look at it another way, though: Spurs have won one of their last two Premier League visits to Stamford Bridge, having triumphed here 3-1 in April 2018.
The teams gathering in the tunnel at Chelski now:
Chelsea: Caballero, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso, Barkley, Mount, Giroud.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Abraham, Willian, Loftus-Cheek, Zouma, Emerson Palmieri, Gilmour.
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Tanganga, Ndombele, Winks, Lo Celso, Davies, Lucas Moura, Bergwijn.
Subs: Lamela, Dier, Sessegnon, Alli, Gazzaniga, Aurier, Fernandes.
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).
Poor from from NBC this morning - they've missed the walk out to the strains of "The Liquidator," my favorite moment of matches at Stamford Bridge.
And we're away at the Bridge, both teams wearing their traditional colors. Clyde Tyldesly and Danny Higginsbottam on the mics.
Both sides teasing each other out in the cagey opening stages of this one.
Morning Bob
Woke up as the kick off happened.
Just made it downstairs
Can't decide who I want to win this...if anyone
Moura drops a shoulder and unleashes the first real shot in anger. Willy Cabs is equal to it.
Wayhey... the second I join the Championship....ROVERS SCORE!!
Oh - now Mason Mount races through and tries to beat Gazza at his near post. Denied for a corner.
Morning, UWS - wahay indeed! That is great news!
GOAL! Olly scores at the third time of asking!
VAR check on it now - groans from the Chelski crowd.
It was like I was on a tv show...turm it on and something happens immediately
Chelsea take the lead!!
Giroud scores for Chelsea on a third attempt from the blues
Save, post and shot
VAR checking for something
They've had a tough time with VAR on Monday
The goal stands and Frank celebrates for a second time.
Goal...still hate VAR...even after Monday night
You've got the magic touch this morning, mate. Welcome!
That Blackburn goal keeps Brentford four points behind us before we start playing today.
So, a United win would put us ahead of Spurs and still three points behind Chelsea
Need those pesky Blades to pop their own bubble sharpish
Chelski are first to every loose ball right now.
I agree - the Blades need to start losing and sharpish. Who have they got today?
Can't believe how close League 1 is at the moment
Top... Rotherham 57 points....Ipswich has 52.... in seventh!
Five points from winning the league and not making the playoffs
Home to the Seagulls
Alonso with a nice effort just over
This lead has take Blackburn into a play off spot
WBA 63
Leeds 59
Ful 57
Bren 55
Forest 55
Bburn 53
Pres 53
Bris 53
Yeah - we'll need to keep an eye on Blackburn now. They were bottom half a few weeks ago.
Brentford shoulld have tied it up... they survive
I do like the look of our run-in. We've already played a number of the top sides twice. Our biggie is against Fulham but at home. Apart from that, we still have to play Swansea, Brum, Reading (today), Hull, Boro, Huddersfield, Stoke and Luton. All of them bottom half.
Now Spurs survive...these keepers go walkabout a lot!
Oh - the Chelski backfour nearly gifted Spurs an equalizer there. A long ball out found Tanganga but he couldn't reach the first touch beyond Willy Cabs.
That is a great run in. On the radio yesterday, they were saying Fulham's is tough!
Of course, Leeds seem to hammer the lower teams at home... and still lose 0-1
Off to the bog - let's see if there's a Nocito Curse in me this morning.
Good Morning Bob and Dave. I had a bit of a late lie in. Will Cabs drove to who knows where , but got away with it.
Just saw the Championship table posted at 6:56. It's really tight,
Just read about Vardy
He hasn't scored since December and only had five shots!
He is still top of the lot!
Morning David
Just saw Bobby Manc, who is now in charge of the Italian national team. I think that was former Chelsea player and manager, Luca Vialli next to him
Well, I'm hoping that we've put that part of our season behind us now and can picking up the points again. Another run like we had in November and we should be home and hosed.
It makes you wonder what exactly Vardy has been doing since December. Part of that is due to the team's loss of form since then
Morning, MUR - how was your week, mate?
They just showed the replay for the goal. Lloris poorly beaten at the near post considering he's supposed to be a top keeper.
It's been well, thank you for asking. How was yours?
I reckon that we'd take a draw between Bristol Titties and the Baggies today. We could use some help from QPR against Forest and from Hull against PNE.
What do you think about the relegation battle in the Prem?
How high in the table do you go until they are safe?
10th Arsenal 34, Burnley 34, Southampton 31, Newcastle 31, Palace 30, Brighton 27, Bourne 26, Villa 25, West H 24, Watford 24 and Norwich 18
I guess all the way up to Southampton? Of course, they are as close to United as they are to Watford
A minute of stoppage time.
To be fair on Lloris, he was still recovering from having saved Giroud's first shot and then seeing an effort rocket off his bar. I think he was still stunned.
Chelsea is one up at the half.
HT - Chelski troop in 1-0 up from that Giroud goal. Loads to play for in the second half.
The second half is underway .
Back after having a blueberry muffin and a strong cup of coffee.
GOAL! I'm barely back in my chair and Chelski are 2-0 up. Alonso with a daisy cutter!
GOAL !!! MARCOS ALONSO SCORES A FANTASTIC LONG RANGE GOAL WELL PLACED IN THE CORNER TO PUT CHELSEA TWO UP
The Nocito Curse in affect...I missed Chelsea's second because of a trip to the loo
It started with a Chelsea throw in their own half. Mount went on a run down the right then passed to Barkley, who passed to Alonso for that fantastic long range effort
VAR checking a tackle that I missed while looking at the goal
Le Celso looking sheepish
Don't get how these players do things knowing that it is being watched
Looks like a red to me
No red... again... I have no idea what VAR is doing
Of course, reds are given out far too much that was nasty
I agree, Dave. I thought that should have been a red for Lo Celso for that LO challenge
Definite red there. He stamped right on the ankle.
What can be done about VAR?
Dave, I'm going to answer your question about the Prem relegation battle. I think 37 points will be enough to survive this year. The Gunners and Burnley are basically safe with Palace and the Toon almost there. The rest are in a relegation battle as not everyone will pick up points and some of those teams are going to take points off of each other.
Bob, I had only seen part of the replay. At the half I saw the entire replay and agree that Lloris was recovering, so hard to blame him
Penalty to Blackburn !
Two nil Rovers!
Blackburn go two up at Griffin PArk
I agree with both of you - Arsenal and Burnley are basically safe. They should be able to stumble up well above the traditional 40 points. The others will have to muck it out.
Former Toon trainee , Adam Armstrong with both Rovers goals
Wahay! That is great news!
Strange as this may sound, Rovers are only half a dozen point behind Leeds and only two points behind the Bees.
An attacking move from Little Joe as Lamela is on for N'Dummy on a horrible return to SB for Little Joe
Vertonghen mounted down a Chelsea player then the Chelsea free kick was headed away
Christiansen fouls Lucas Moura just outside the Chelsea box.
That should have been a red...Spurs wouldn't have had ANYONE available to play up front
Poor free kick from Lamela is high and wide
Why is Christensen wearing the Phantom mask today?
Brentford get a goal back...game on
Great goal
Just looked at the table a Baggies win seems a better result then a Bristol City win.A draw would be a decent result as well.
Martial broke his nose on Monday.....with a karate chop
Not good news for Bob.
Bees buzzing for an equalizer!
BOOM BOOM! Despite the broken nose he scored with a karate chop in Belgium on Thursday off a Brugge back pass.
Dave is in great form. I think I'm about to be dethroned.
Tammy A replacing Giroud
Like for like as Tammy Abraham on for Olly. Great news for England that Abraham is recovering.
Tammy is on my fantasy team... I guess I hope he gets a goal
IS Christiansen wearing the mask because he's auditioning for a role in a play?
Lo Challenge with another Lo challenge. Lucky to be on the pitch
I guess not...Chelsea's GD is not even with United at +9
So sad that the top 3 have +46, +38 and +28
The rest
Che +9, Spurs +7, Sh +4, Utd +9, Wolves +3
Come on the Rovers! Hang in there!
Penalty to Brentford!
Never a penalty there.
That's an interesting goal difference stat. it shows the dominanace of the top three and how far behind the rest of the trailing pack is.
Very soft!! Both the radio and TV say the same!
Desmond....at Griffin Park
is a draw ok?
Bugger! Come on, the Rovers keeper!
Yeah - a draw would leave them three points behind us at the start of play.
YOKES! Bob will hope for a save from the Rovers keeper.
Now Desmond at Ewood PArk. Sorry, Bob.
This Liverpool team is really good but the rest of the division is useless!
The United and Arsenal teams that won had to deal with each other plus a lot of good teams!
Barkley gets the hook - he's been good today. Willian on for him.
A draw is a decent result. Moves Rovers out of playoff spot.
Brentford will be pushing for the win now, sadly.
Agreed, Dave. United's titles were hard fought and well earned.Even the the teams fighting relegation battles were decent.
Aurier and Dele on for Toby and Bergwign.
Serge Aurier for Vertongehen and Delle Alli sandwiched on for Steve Berg-Wine on the final rolls of the dice for Little Joe. Probably too little too late
Oh - Tammy nearly in there for a third. Lloris stopped him well.
I missed the save from Lloris but saw the last ditch tackle to prevent a third Chelsea goal
I saw it on the replay . Great save from Lloris , but Tammy Abraham should have scored off a great run and pass.
Lo Celso, who should have been sent off a while back, finally gets a yellow.
Did I tell you guys that I am UK bound in October for Kathy's niece's wedding.
Flying from JFK to Heathrow and then straight up to Glasgow. We will be in Scotland from Thursday to Monday. Spending the rest of the time up to Sunday with family and London. Our friends are going to come meet us as we arrive in HR the second time
Lo Cleso booked for being too high , not too LO off a high challenge he mounted on a Chelsea player
Oh - off the bar from Alonso from the free kick. Nearly his brace!
Poor form from NBC... I heard the ball hit the crossbar on 5Live before I saw it
I thought it was live!!
OH! Then Marcos Alonso nearly with a second goal off the free kick
You did mention that, mate. Is she marrying a Weegee?
I remember you mentioning that as well. Delighted for you. A great way to celebrate your retirement.
I sent you the scoring from Fratton Park in the EFL Cup semi
thru text... 5 goals from the 79th min onwards
Pompey fell behind twice but scored in the 93rd and 96th minutes to make Wembley to try and retain the cup
They will play Class of 92's Salford. They won at Newport 6-5 on pens
She is marrying a she.... she is a Scot
This set of fixtures were the fixtures of the weekend I arrived in UK in December
Nice one - you should have a brilliant time. Make sure to have some haggis, mate.
Who will you be rooting for in the EFL Final?
NO... fish and chips every day.... and a battered sausage to boot
I second what Bob said. Hope you have a great vacation.
I'll be rooting for Villa, as I've got two points riding on Citeh losing that day.
I'm jealous , Dave. Those were my favorites while living in England
Pompey
Last year's final was a sell-out at Wembley vs Sunderland but my cousin was out of the country... they hope to be going this year
When in Glasgow, mate. When in Glasgow....
I have Citeh winning, so that could be half a dozen points up for grabs
Villa... can't have City winning four domestic trophies in a row... plus Charity Shields
Goal for Spurs...not long to go!
OG
GOAL! Rudiger deflects one in his own net. Game on?
Four added minutes to come in a moment.
Championship match is about 6 minutes behind the Prem
GOAL !!! SPURS PULL ONE BACK. NOW 2-1. LUCAS MOURA SENT LAMELA DOWN THE LEFT AND HIS SHOT TOOK A WICKED DEFLECTION OFF OF RUDIGER.
We're in for a dramatic finale
Shad is at me...I'll be going on walkies after these early matches
A good walk listening to build up around the grounds
I was looking at the Euro 2020 schedule yesterday and plugging it into my calendar. England start their campaign against Croatia on Sunday, June 14 at 9am EST.
Will you be finished with school at that point, UWS?
Still Desmond at Ewood Park
Sounds good, mate - enjoy your walkies.
Sadly, I won't be done. My last day is June 26th
The Leeds squad for today's match, unchanged from last weekend:
Kiko, Ayling, White, Coop, Dallas, Kal, Klich, Harrison, Helder, Pablo, Patrick.
Subs: Meslier, Casey, Alioski, Douglas, Shackleton, Tyler, Augustin.
I'll be walking Sparky once this match ends
Apparently, VAR have already said they got it wrong from the earlier decision. They said they thought he had no where else to land his foot
You're just a few months away, Dave. I'm delighted for you and I know you will enjoy it.
Bugger - you'll miss out on the whole group stage.
Desmond at Brentford would be an ok result as Brentford SHOULD have take the lead
What's the point of VAR then?
I'll be home for the late matches.... just
Chelsea win
Jose walks away without shaking hands
Chelsea hold on to win 2-1 and create a further gap ahead of the chasing pack. Spurs may move out of the top five this weekend.
Still Desmond at Griffin Park. I'll take that. Hang in there, Rovers!
I guess that did touch but Jose was buggering off sharpish
Poor sportsmanship from Little Joe , especially against of his former players.
4 added minutes at GP
So, United can overtake Spurs and hopefully Sh U tomorrow morning and keep three points behind Chelsea
Now United have a better GD than Chelsea with that late Spurs goal
Another pet peeve of mine from the modern game
The subs have to get dressed before they come on....why aren't they dressed in the DRESSING Room
Lamps is the first manager to beat Jose in his first two games
Free kick chance for Rovers
cleared
Didn't know Downing was a Rover these days
Corner
Looked like Rovers had a one on one but called offside and that is it
Ends 2-2...good result for Leeds
Ok, I am off for walkies
Good enough for us, yeah. Brentford remain in fourth place, three points off an automatic promotion place. Blackburn remain in eighth place, two points off the play-offs.
Back just in time for Kick off
Boring Prem stuff... concentrating on Championship on SS
"coverage will begin shortly"
Get on with it
I love being able to watch SS but I do want to complain that is not available during midweek matches or when the Prem is not playing
I'm back for kick-off as well. MOT!
Coverage starts...with UK commercial
We are off at Bramall Lane
Can you remind me of the sign-in info for Gold, UWS. For some reason, it's asking me to sign in again.
SS is on... Brill
COME ON LEEDS....score early AND often
Come on, you Leeds boys!
I'll text you
Heard an interesting fact on my walk
Palace have not scored more than one goal in a match the whole season!
Seven other clubs have finished the season with that incompetence.....all have been relegated
Cheers!
Pope saves well from Wilson
Come on Brighton...get your fingers out
Funny how both Sheffield sides can wear their traditional kits during the derby.... but Brighton can't wear their Wednesday colors
Back for the 10 AM matches after walkies and feeding the pets
"postive start from home side" at ER
Go close again....come on...bury the chances!
Neil Mellor stated that it's a full house at ER and that Leeds have started out by dominating the match. They need to score goals
some blokes in Birmingham waiting to see where the first goal is scored..... they are off to Northampton for the night
Brum take the lead at home to Wednesday on Saturday
"Very lively" at Bristol TItties!
Wednesday were in contention and now they have fallen like a stone!
Interesting fact that you stated about Palace. Despite the lack of goals they're only about three wins from safety
"save of the season by Toon keeper"
Oh - Helder nearly opens the scoring for us. Fires just wide after a great run.
Brum takes the lead against Not a Big Club . Bob will be pleased
I think Southampton scored... I heard Le Tis say YES
I am right...one nil vs Villa
It 's an OG by one of the Murphy twins. Nice pun by Jeff, saying it's Murphy's law
High flying Coventry ahead at Rochdale
It was scored by Shane ,, who will take the Saints a long way from the drop zone. A win would put them on 34 points and just about safe from he drop
Coventry have moved on top...they are building up after spending our childhood in the top division but dropped down to the bottom...still homeless
The Evil Blades could end the weekend in a CL spot, pending the Citeh appeal. Bob will feel that the Earth is about to fall of it's axis
Aha.... you should have capitalized Long... pun failed!
Coventry have been in superb form. Would be great to see them moving up the divisions. Hope they find a home soon.
I heard about it
"save of the season"
"a worldie"
Loving the SS.
I did use the Long pun. A "Long " way from the drop zone
Me too
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