IMAGE: Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise celebrates scoring their second goal with David Ozoh and Naouirou Ahamada. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters
Michael Olise scored a stoppage-time penalty as Crystal Palace clawed back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Manchester City in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The draw kept City, who were without their league-leading scorer Erling Haaland due to a foot injury, in fourth place in the table on 34 points after a run of six games with only one win, and manager Pep Guardiola covered his face in frustration as the final whistle blew.
Palace are 15th with 17 points, eight above the drop zone.
“I think it was an unbelievable result,” keeper Dean Henderson, who was playing his first league game for Palace, told the BBC.
“Manchester City are a world-class team and you’ve just got to try to stay in the game as long as you can and hopefully catch them on the break which we did.
“We stuck to the game plan. The manager (Roy Hodgson) was unbelievable with the messages through the week. The boys deserve all the credit because it’s hard work against them.”
With the visitors trailing 2-0, Jean-Philippe Mateta pulled one goal back for them when he scored from close range in the 76th minute.
IMAGE: Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta scores their first goal. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters
Palace were awarded a penalty in the 95th minute, to boos from the Etihad crowd, after Mateta was taken down by Phil Foden. Olise slotted the ball past City keeper Ederson for the unexpected draw.
“It’s really unfortunate but we’ve got to look at ourselves and look at our individual decisions and then look at us as a group,” City defender Rico Lewis said. “We can’t blame anyone else. We can only blame ourselves for it.”
City’s Jack Grealish scored for the third consecutive Premier League match for the first time in his career, in the 24th minute, collecting the ball from Foden and putting it to the left of keeper Dean Henderson. A lengthy VAR review ruled it narrowly onside.
City doubled their lead in the 54th minute when the ball was bundled through to Lewis who thumped it into the bottom left corner.
City had 19 shots to Crystal Palace’s two, keeping Henderson busy in only his second game of the season after he picked up a thigh injury in September.
“I loved every minute of it, being back on the pitch,” Henderson said. “It’s been emotional but I’m delighted to be back.”
IMAGE: Newcastle United’s Dan Burn celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates. Photograph: Scott Heppell/Reuters
Newcastle ease to win over Fulham
Newcastle United returned to winning ways by putting three second-half goals past 10-man Fulham on Saturday, including one from 17-year-old Lewis Miley who became the club’s youngest player to score in the Premier League.
Fulham had Raul Jimenez sent off in the 22nd minute and although they kept the home side at bay until halftime, Miley’s goal opened the floodgates, with Miguel Almiron and Dan Burn also getting themselves on the score sheet.
The victory will give Newcastle — who lost their previous three games in all competitions and were knocked out of European competition — a boost as they moved up to sixth with 29 points while Fulham dropped to 11th, eight points behind.
“What a moment it was for me and my family. They were in the stand. Great feeling to see the ball in the back of the net,” Miley said.
“Hopefully I can score lots more. I haven’t checked my phone yet but I’m sure everyone will be buzzing for us.”
Jimenez had scored four goals in his last five games and such was his confidence that he even attempted a bicycle kick from 20 yards out, but his red card for a flash of petulance gave Newcastle the upper hand.
He was initially cautioned for an aerial lunge on Sean Longstaff after hitting the Newcastle midfielder in the face with his hip as he attempted to block a pass, but Jimenez was sent off following a VAR review.
IMAGE: Newcastle United’s Dan Burn scores their third goal past Fulham’s Bernd Leno. Photograph: Lee Smith/Reuters
Newcastle lost Fabian Schar and Joelinton to injuries in the first half but the man advantage enabled them to dominate possession.
Fulham weathered the storm — and nearly 10 minutes of added time — to go into the break at 0-0.
But as the volume went up at St James’ Park, Fulham’s resistance was broken when Bruno Guimaraes drove into the box and skipped past four challenges to tee up Miley for the opener.
“Sometimes I can’t believe he’s 17, he’s unbelievable. We’re very proud of him,” Bruno said.
Newcastle doubled their lead when Anthony Gordon slipped the ball through for Callum Wilson and although the striker failed to capitalise under pressure from the defence, Miguel Almiron arrived amid the confusion to fire it home.
Fulham were down and out but Bruno was not done yet and he found Dan Burn at the far post for Newcastle’s third goal. Fulham keeper Bernd Leno saved his initial header, but the ball went in off the defender’s knee.
“We’re in a very good moment. We came here to fight for three points,” said Fulham boss Marco Silva, whose team had won their two previous games 5-0.
“When you play with 10 the effort is huge. We had our moments… The first goal killed our belief a little bit. That’s normal with 10 men.”
IMAGE: Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson scores their second goal. Photograph: David Klein/Reuters
Chelsea labour to win over Sheffield
Chelsea scored twice in seven second-half minutes through Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson to claim a laboured 2-0 win over the Premier League’s bottom club Sheffield United on Saturday.
Palmer unlocked a determined visiting defence when he poked home the ball from six metres after a one-two with Raheem Sterling in the 54th minute.
Palmer then turned provider in the 61st when United keeper Wes Foderingham could only parry the ball to the midfielder after a goalmouth melee and he fed Jackson who was unmarked at the far post to turn the ball home.
Sheffield United, under newly returned coach Chris Wilder, had managed to suffocate Chelsea in the first half.
Chelsea forwards Mykhailo Mudryk and Jackson made forays into the visitors’ area but were constantly frustrated by the disciplined defence with every man behind the ball.
IMAGE: Sheffield United’s Oli McBurnie in action with Chelsea’s Benoit Badiashile. Photograph: David Klein
Mauricio Pochettino’s expensively-assembled side produced only one shot on target in the half, a Conor Gallagher effort that was calmly collected by Foderingham.
For United, Cameron Archer and James McAtee looked dangerous on the break but their forward runs were limited with United’s first-half possession reaching only 21%.
Pochettino changed his formation and switched Sterling and Cole’s positions in the second half to try to break United’s stranglehold.
“In the first half we didn’t find a way to break the low block,” the Argentine said. “We changed to try to find a better solution… better positions.”
The result was a relief for Chelsea after two defeats in a row away at Manchester United and Everton.
