Elma

Spurs equalise. OG.

Spurs get one back.

Brighton 2-0 Edit: Oh dear Vicario

With hindsight I can understand that.

Minteh goal for Brighton being reviewed. Edit: Very, very tight this - Given!

Barca's toughest game this season was the 1-1 draw with Rayo Vallecano, who were physical and played with a high press. Valencia played 5-3-2 against them at the weekend and didn't get out of their half in a 6-0 defeat. Barca are playing with a line even higher than Ange's Spurs, standing right on the halfway line and suffocating the opposition, stopping them from getting out - the opposition striker barely gets a kick, and to beat them you have to gamble and leave your two wide players up even when their wingers bomb on. If you take that risk then when you get the ball you have an out and can cause them trouble the other way. This should be slightly easier for us with Yamal out. Going with Gordon/Elanga/Barnes up top and resting Woltemade for the weekend might work, as those three have pace and can interchange. Might have been better with Murphy over Barnes but am intrigued to see it. Whoever is in the middle of the front three should be dropping deep and trying to pull the centre-backs all over the place.

I think he's better than Isak - if it's marginal now it'll be clear in a few years. Isak thought Liverpool signing Ekitike would scupper his move - it didn't in the end but it's still going to severely hamper him. I firmly believe he'll have more minutes than Isak come the end of the season, and for their respective cost he'll be seen as by far the better signing.

Whereas there he is just a cult…

Thuram second header from a corner. Inter 2-0 at Ajax.

Inter one up

I'm not watching (I only have Ajax v Inter on my Turkish feed) but if it's a foul and yellow I believe you don't have to leave the field now?

Great late save by Bodo keeper to get the point.

Superb. Cracking game. Draws are great too.

Still think by the end of the season Ekitike will have played more minutes than Isak.

Now that one might be a pen…

Great that he went to the screen, then said "nah, I'm not having that".

I think I might know who set that up 😂

He's right in much of that (bar that dreadful pronunciation of Bayındır). The main issue is a coach who is limited (give Man U's players to Howe and he'd get a tune out of them within ten games), and they are throwing players at him who performed well under other good coaches in defined roles, but will drift at Man U under Amorim. They keep wondering why players they sign turn to shit when they've not had a really top class coach since Fergie (I include Mourinho in that) who understands the environment and taps into it, rather than try to fight it. If I were them and about to ditch Amorim I'd be looking at Iraola. God forbid Howe goes, but if he does whilst Iraola is still at Bournemouth I'd be straight on the phone to them (and I was championing Howe for years before he came to us).

Assuming Gordon has to play as he's been suspended for the league, and with Elanga rested on Saturday then it's going to be a front free of Gordon - Woltemade - Elanga to start. My worry is what we go to when Woltemade tires after 60 as, in Wissa's absence, Osula isn't the answer. If Gordon has the legs then I guess we switch him centrally and bring Barnes or Murphy on? Maybe both if Elanga is knackered/not making headway? My worry for the next 6-7 games is a midfield injury as Willock and Miley are still significant downgrades on our first choice three. Wish we'd had time/funds to bring in another midfielder.

Helluva save that

I no longer worry about that. Yes, you need to judge players on their merits/attributes, but equally important is the system used and the quality of coaching. If Šeško fails there it doesn't necessarily mean he'd have failed under Eddie. We've got one of the best coaches in the league. I genuinely think that Slot will struggle to get Ekitike and Isak firing together and that Ekitike may end up with more minutes this season. The wealthy clubs seem to have a scattergun approach to signing players, often picking them up for stupid money after they've had the odd good season in a specific system at a less fancied club.

Burnley have given Man U and Liverpool maximum points now with stupid late penalties.

I'm shouting at the TV and it's not even us playing. That's how much I hate them. 😂

How many added on, seven, eight?

Probably only Rob Lee and Gary Speed come close. Loved David Batty too although Lee and Speed stand out for me. It's obviously not all about goals but Rob Lee had a goal in seven and Speed was around a goal in nine. Tonali currently a goal in nine/ten but he seems to love the woodwork. He's had a few great efforts he's been unlucky with, including that one yesterday. I think if he keeps this up for a full season and adds a few more goals he'll surpass Lee for me.