IMAGE: Manchester City’s Erling Haaland scores a goal that was later disallowed. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Bernardo Silva scored an early goal but struggling Manchester City could only muster a single point in a 1-1 Premier League draw with Everton to kick off a full slate of Boxing Day games on Thursday.
City’s slump has seen them win just once in their last 13 matches across all competitions and they provisionally sit sixth in the table with 28 points, 11 below leaders Liverpool who have two games in hand. Everton are 15th, five points above the drop zone.
IMAGE: Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol and Ilkay Gundogan in action with Everton’s Nathan Patterson and Armando Broja. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Silva scored in the 14th minute when Jeremy Doku played a ball in behind the Toffees’ defence and Silva slid in to fire into the far corner from a tight angle. But Iliman Ndiaye drew Everton level in the 36th when he took a touch to settle the ball, then unleashed a shot from the centre of the box to the top right corner.
City fans thought they had victory locked up when Erling Haaland stepped up to the penalty spot in the second half after Seamus Coleman’s tackle on Savinho, but goalkeeper Jordan Pickford dived correctly to safe the shot. Haaland headed home the rebound, but it was chalked off for offside.
Fulham stun Chelsea with 2-1 comeback win at Stamford Bridge
IMAGE: Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz in action. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Reuters
Fulham came from behind to beat neighbours Chelsea 2-1 after a 95th minute goal from substitute Rodrigo Muniz gave the visitors all three point in the Premier League on Thursday.
It was Fulham’s first win at Stamford Bridge since 1979 and put a dent in second-placed Chelsea’s title hopes as the hosts stay on 35 points, four points off the pace having played two games more than leaders Liverpool who host Leicester City later.
Chelsea took the lead after 16 minutes when Cole Palmer danced past two defenders and slid the ball through Issa Diop’s legs into the bottom corner to score a classy goal.
But Fulham’s second-half energy and determination paid off in the 82nd minute when Harry Wilson headed home from close range for the club’s first goal at Stamford Bridge since 2011.
Muniz clinched all three points when he swept home a pass from Sasa Lukic in the dying moments of the match to take Fulham up to eighth with 28 points from 18 games. It was Chelsea’s first league loss since a 2-1 defeat on Oct. 20 at Liverpool.
Elanga on target as Forest beat Spurs 1-0 to go third
IMAGE: Tottenham Hotspur’s Dominic Solanke heads at goal. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Reuters
Nottingham Forest continued their challenge for a Premier League top-four spot as Anthony Elanga’s first-half goal secured a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur to put them third on Thursday.
Elanga completed a superb Forest counter-attack in the 28th minute to settle a contest that Tottenham ended with 10 men after former Forest player Djed Spence was sent off.
The result moved Forest provisionally up to third with 34 points, while Tottenham’s fourth defeat in five Premier League games left them in 11th with 23 points after 18 games.
Tottenham had edged the opening exchanges with former Forest winger Brennan Johnson going close for the visitors but the hosts struck in devastating fashion.
When Tottenham lost possession on the edge of the Forest area, the ball was played to Morgan Gibbs-White who split the visiting defence with a superb pass and Elanga beat goalkeeper Fraser Forster with a deft finish.
It was enough for Forest to win a third successive top-flight game for the first time since 1995 and was especially sweet for manager Nuno Espirito Santo who was sacked by Tottenham three years ago.
Forest now have more points than they managed in the whole of last season when they flirted with relegation.
Tottenham are now 11 points behind Forest and pressure is sure to mount on manager Ange Postecoglou.
His side had chances before the break with Matz Sels twice denying Johnson and Son Heung-min hitting the side-netting with a free kick shortly before the interval.
Tottenham were toothless after the break though and their frustration was summed up when Spence was shown a second yellow card deep in stoppage time.
Newcastle crush 10-man Villa 3-0
IMAGE: Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes in action with Aston Villa’s Amadou Onana. Photograph: Scott Heppell/Reuters
Newcastle United beat Aston Villa 3-0 in the Premier League on Thursday with goals from Anthony Gordon, Alexander Isak and Joelinton while Jhon Duran was sent off for the visitors who crashed to a fifth straight away defeat.
Victory in the last home game of the year moved Newcastle up to fifth on 29 points while Villa fell to ninth, a point behind Eddie Howe’s side.
Newcastle are in a purple patch with four straight wins in all competitions and their third in the league in their quest to return to the top four and the Champions League.
Newcastle got off to a flier in the second minute when they won the ball back in midfield before Joelinton found Gordon on the left, where the English winger curled a shot past the dive of Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez and into the top corner.
As Villa looked for an equaliser, the game got increasingly physical with fouls all across the pitch leading to a stop-start contest and the visitors did test Martin Dubravka in Newcastle’s goal.
But Villa shot themselves in the foot when Jhon Duran was sent off in the 32nd minute for a straight red card after he stamped on Fabian Schar following a tackle.
Jhon Duran, who has scored 12 goals in all competitions for Villa this season, first stamped Schar’s leg and then his back before falling over. As he walked off the pitch, the livid Colombian kicked a water bottle before going down the tunnel.
Newcastle continued to probe Villa’s defence and doubled their lead in the 59th minute when Bruno Guimaraes slipped a ball through for Jacob Murphy and he squared the ball to Isak for a tap-in — his 24th goal of the calendar year.
Minutes later, Newcastle nearly made it 3-0 but Martinez came to the rescue once again when he saved a shot from Joelinton while Murphy pounced on the rebound and saw his shot come off the crossbar.
Emery made a triple substitution but it made no difference and Joelinton completed the rout in stoppage time when he nicked the ball in midfield, made an unimpeded run and fired an emphatic strike from the edge of the box into the top corner.
