 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Chelsea put their off-pitch worries to one side as they beat a plucky Norwich City side 3-1 to consolidate third place in the Premier League at Carrow Road on Thursday.
The players at Chelsea, whose Russian owner Roman Abramovich has been placed under sanctions by the British government, did not appear to let the controversy affect them as they swept aside struggling Norwich who look headed for relegation.
Chelsea took the lead after three minutes with a Trevoh Chalobah header and soon doubled the advantage when Mason Mount fired home before Kai Havertz wrapped up the win near the end. Norwich had pulled a goal back with a Teemu Pukki penalty.
Chelsea, whose fans sang Abramovich's name throughout the match, are on 56 points from 27 games and moved eight points clear of Arsenal, who are fourth but have two games in hand. Norwich stayed bottom on 17 points.
Glorious Guimaraes goal earns Newcastle vital win at Southampton
Bruno Guimaraes scored the winner for Newcastle United with a brilliant back-heeled volley as his side came from a goal down to secure a vital 2-1 victory at Southampton in the Premier League.
Stuart Armstrong gave Southampton the lead midway through the first half with a deflected header, but Chris Wood equalised for the visitors with a precise header from Jonjo Shelvey's superb inswinging cross in the 32nd minute.
It was the striker's first goal in his eighth appearance for Newcastle, but his celebrations were almost cut short as Che Adams struck an angled drive off the underside of the crossbar before it bounced away to safety.
Brazilian Guimaraes also grabbed his first goal for Newcastle with an audacious piece of skill in the 66th minute, reacting quickest to back-heel the ball into the net following a corner.
The visitors looked set to kill the game off as they poured forward looking for a third, and Southampton had to scramble to survive a goalmouth scramble as Guimaraes threatened with a header.
Southampton struggled as they sought to fashion an equaliser but went close when Valentino Livramento's wicked cross was touched over the bar by Martin Dubravka.
The Newcastle keeper pulled off another brilliant save to deny Mohammed Salisu late on, and with the fourth official indicating there would be at least six minutes of time added on, the momentum swung back towards the home side.
Adams had a shot smothered by last-ditch Newcastle defending and Armstrong had a powerful strike from distance touched over by Dubravka as Newcastle preserved their unbeaten league run in 2022.
Eddie Howe's side moved on to 31 points, 10 ahead of 18th-placed Burnley. Southampton are 10th on 35 points.
Leeds relegation fears grow after loss to Villa
Leeds United remain firmly embroiled in a Premier League relegation battle after they slipped to a 3-0 defeat by Aston Villa in American coach Jesse Marsch's first home game in charge.
Sitting two points above the drop zone coming into the match, Leeds lacked quality in forward areas as they looked for a first win in eight games, with the hosts falling behind in the 22nd minute when Philippe Coutinho's strike crept in.
The Elland Road crowd grew frustrated as their team misplacing pass after pass, allowing Villa to add a second through full back Matty Cash in the 65th minute and end the clash as a contest.
There was still time for Calum Chambers to curl a sublime third for Villa as fans headed for an early exit, with their side two points clear of Burnley in 18th but having played two games more.
Villa's third win in a row lifted them to ninth in the standings.
"I knew when I came there was a lot of momentum working against us," Marsch said. "We had to stay calm and help the players find their way and that is still the case.
"I will do everything I can to help these guys try to do better and play better and get better results."
In this first programme notes, Marsch was quick to point out that he has the utmost respect for his popular predecessor Marcelo Bielsa, and the American's team played in the same high tempo style early on at Elland Road.
However, Villa looked much more threatening up front and the pressure told as Coutinho netted his fourth goal since arriving on loan from Barcelona in January, aided by Leeds defender Pascal Struijk's deflection.
Another errant Leeds pass was almost punished as John McGinn arrowed a strike that looked to be heading for the bottom corner, only for Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier to spring across to make a fine save.
Marsch, who was very animated on the touchline, introduced fit-again striker Patrick Bamford off the bench to try to rouse his side, but it remained all Villa as Danny Ings picked out Cash with the perfect pass and the full back finished expertly.
Further chances came and went for Villa, but the third was worth the wait as Chambers' first goal for the club fizzed into the top corner to put the visitors out of sight.
"The team is in a fantastic place and the mood is good but we have to remain cautious and keep resetting ourselves," Villa manager Steven Gerrard told the BBC. "Things can change quickly in this league.
"The game plan worked tonight for sure. The idea was to really dominate the middle of the pitch. We played through the press which gave us a lot of success through the transition. We were a real joy to watch going forward."
There were boos aplenty at the final whistle, mixed in with songs about their former manager, as Leeds fans let their feelings be known.
Leeds have now lost six consecutive Premier League games for the first time since February, 2004, and it was the first time they have lost four top-flight games in a row without scoring since 1982.
Wolves punish woeful Watford with early blitz
Wolverhampton Wanderers scored three times in the opening 21 minutes as woeful Watford proved their own worst enemies in a 4-0 home defeat at Molineux.
Raul Jimenez opened the scoring, before Watford midfielder Cucho Hernandez made it 2-0 with an own goal, and Daniel Podence profited from an error by goalkeeper Ben Foster. Ruben Neves scored a late fourth with a sublime chip.
Wolves, who had lost their last three games, remained in eighth place in the table with 43 points from 28 matches, while Watford are second bottom with 19 points.
"We didn’t defend the first one well enough, the next two it is pretty obvious. All the goals are mistakes, some are clearer mistakes than others," Watford manager Roy Hodgson told reporters.
"It was disappointing in every respect. We have a very sad dressing-room. It gets hard when your players don’t care enough, but we are not in that position yet.
"We have to hold our hands up that we are not good enough at times, but not that they don’t care. These players need to feel anxiety because we are running out of time."
They started brightly but fell behind on 13 minutes as Hee-Chan Hwang’s ball into the six-yard box was turned in by Jimenez, who scored his sixth league goal of the season.
It went from bad to worse for the visitors as Rayan Ait-Nouri’s tame attempted cross at the back post hit Hernandez and went in.
Foster’s error on 21 minutes killed the game as a contest when the goalkeeper’s aimless pass out of defence was intercepted by Podence, whose shot from 30 yards sailed into an unguarded net.
Neves added the fourth when he was given time on the edge of the box to pick his spot and chip the ball over the floundering Foster.
"He (Foster) would be the first to put his hand up. He has been vitally important in every respect, with his performances and the way he is," Hodgson said.
"As a keeper, you are a hero or a zero. He has been a hero a number of times, this was the other side of the coin. If you want to be anonymous, get yourself in midfield."
