Chelsea 1 Brighton 2
Chelsea slumped to a third consecutive defeat under Frank Lampard as Brighton produced a superb display at Stamford Bridge to enhance their credentials as European contenders.
Substitute Julio Enciso hit the winner 20 minutes from time with a magnificent 30-yard rocket into the top corner, completing a stunning turnaround after Danny Welbeck’s header had cancelled out Conor Gallagher’s deflected opener for the hosts.
That at least ended the Blues’ streak of four games without a goal – their worst run in 30 years – but it will be small consolation for supporters who saw their team beaten resoundingly by Roberto De Zerbi’s visitors.
Banged up in Britain: Labour under pressure over prisoner early releases as it sells its plan for more cells
Top Stories of 2024: Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: ‘I was 41 when Anna came along ... Being a dad hadn’t crossed my mind’
Fostering at Christmas: ‘We once had two boys, age 9 and 11, who had never had a Christmas tree’
After the fall of Assad, a family reunites
Even on their recent poor run, Chelsea have rarely been so outclassed. Brighton were outstanding, their range of passing and intelligence with the ball making a mockery of the £500 million spent by Todd Boehly to try to propel Chelsea up the league. On this showing, only one of these teams belonged in Europe next season.
The early chances fell to Brighton. First, Karou Mitoma burst past Trevor Chalobah down the left and cut back for Alexis Mac Allister who shot wide, then Evan Ferguson took the ball on his left foot, checked inside and with his right smacked a shot against Kepa Arrizabalaga’s crossbar.
Minutes later, Chelsea led. Mykhailo Mudryk took possession on the left and drove infield. Feinting to play the ball wide, he slid a clever reverse ball inside to Gallagher, who strode on to it and hit a shot that deflected off Lewis Dunk and in.
Brighton, undeterred, simply went about their work. Pervis Estupinan went on a determined run down Chelsea’s left and fed the ball inside for Solly March to try his luck from range, the winger’s effort whizzing inches over.
Then Mitoma gave a reminder of his ever-rising stock by dancing through the defence and drawing an outstanding one-handed save from Arrizabalaga.
There were further chances for Mitoma and Mac Allister as the visitors slowly took control of possession and of the game, though both missed the target from promising positions.
Chelsea resorted to playing on the counter, looking to release the lively Mudryk where they could.
Soon Brighton were in total charge, and after 30 minutes they went close again.
Ferguson took the ball from a throw-in and fed substitute Enciso, on for the injured Joel Veltman. He slipped his man and crossed for Ferguson who, having continued his run, placed a header towards the corner, only for Arrizabalaga to fling himself into another superb save to turn it over the bar.
Ferguson, who had been excellent, injured himself in the process and was replaced by Welbeck.
For Brighton it proved a blessing in disguise. They equalised within minutes. The ball was worked out wide to Pascal Gross who looked up to see Welbeck peeling away at the far post. The cross was inch-perfect, and as two Chelsea defenders rose neither could beat Welbeck to the ball and stop him heading Brighton level.
Christian Pulisic hit the post in added time at the end of the half on a rare Chelsea break. Otherwise Brighton’s control of the match by half-time was total.
The second period started in the same vein. Mitoma again tormented Chelsea down the left, and slipped in Enciso who almost gave Brighton the lead but for Arrizabalaga’s block.
Chelsea needed a change. Lampard responded by making four at once, seeking to swing the balance back his team’s way.
If anything, it destabilised them further. On the hour mark Enciso dropped a hint of what was to come, outmuscling Chalobah and substitute Reece James and striking the post.
Then came his moment. There seemed little on when he collected March’s square ball 30 yards out. Chelsea gave him space, failing to take the threat seriously and Enciso made them pay in the spectacular fashion.
Tottenham 2 Bournemouth 3
Tottenham Hotspur blew a gilt-edged chance to boost their hopes of finishing in the Premier League’s top four as relegation battlers Bournemouth snatched a last-gasp 3-2 away win on Saturday.
Dango Ouattara’s superb finish in the fifth minute of stoppage time sent the south coast club’s fans into raptures and Tottenham’s heading for the exits.
Third-placed Newcastle United’s defeat at Aston Villa opened the door for Tottenham and they duly went ahead in the 14th minute when Son Heung-min fired them into the lead.
Son was soon denied a second by a great save from Bournemouth’s Neto but fifth-placed Tottenham lost their way and a mistake at the back by Pedro Porro was punished as Matias Vina equalised for the south coast side in the 38th minute.
Bournemouth then sent the visiting fans into raptures when Dominic Solanke dinked a close-range finish past Hugo Lloris six minutes after the interval.
Tottenham, who could have gone above fourth-placed Manchester United for 24 hours at least with a win, raised their intensity level and Danjuma’s left-footed effort set up a frantic finale.
But with the hosts searching for a winner, Bournemouth broke away and the ball reached Ouattara who cut in from the left before arrowing a right-foot finish beyond Lloris.
Tottenham remain in fifth place with 53 points from 31 games, three behind Manchester United and Newcastle United who have played 29 and 30 games respectively.
Bouurnemouth’s survival prospects are now looking much rosier as they have 33 points, six points better off than third-from-bottom Nottingham Forest.
Southampton 0 Crystal Palace 2
Eberechi Eze bagged a brace as Crystal Palace continued their resurgence under Roy Hodgson with a 2-0 win which deepens Southampton’s Premier League relegation concerns.
Eze struck twice in 14 second-half minutes at St Mary’s to earn the Eagles a third consecutive success since former England boss Hodgson returned to Selhurst Park just under four weeks ago.
Bottom club Southampton enjoyed plenty of the ball but were largely toothless in attack as they slipped to a club-record 20th defeat in a 38-game top-flight campaign.
Saints midfielder Carlos Alcaraz came close to halving the deficit as he curled against the inside of the left post before the Eagles cruised to victory to take another significant step towards securing their own survival.
Ruben Selles’ hosts have picked up just two points from the last 18 available, with a drop into the Sky Bet Championship at the end of a miserable season featuring three managers beginning to look inevitable going into their final seven games.
Palace travelled to Hampshire buoyed by their recent upturn in form following the sacking of Patrick Vieira, while Southampton began the day in serious trouble and with time running out.
Saints boss Selles insisted this week his players possess the fight for a relegation scrap.
The Spaniard watched the recalled Joe Aribo blaze over the best chance of a cagey opening quarter following a well-worked corner routine, before Palace midfielder Michael Olise had an effort ruled out for a clear offside having burst through to round home goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.
Southampton forward Theo Walcott, who assisted Aribo’s attempt, later fired into the side-netting after being slipped in by Kamaldeen Sulemana.
Frustration began to grow around the ground as Saints patiently probed for an opener against a solid away side searching for opportunities to counter.
The Eagles, unchanged from last weekend’s 5-1 thrashing of Leeds, failed to register an attempt on target in a forgettable first half.
That statistic persisted until the 54th minute when the visitors edged in front.
Jordan Ayew’s powerful cross from the left was pushed away by Bazunu, leaving Eze with a simple, side-foot volley into the unguarded net.
Palace were far more threatening in attack during the second half of last weekend’s emphatic win in West Yorkshire and that trend continued on the south coast.
Eze, who was on target at Elland Road six days ago, doubled his side’s lead in the 68th minute by turning away from Moussa Djenepo and Romeo Lavia to arrow a low strike into the bottom-left corner from distance.
Southampton were initially stunned by the quick-fire double.
The hosts almost gave their opponents something to think about when Argentinian Alcaraz was unlucky to be denied by the woodwork from the edge of the box in the 72nd minute before he volleyed over from close range moments later.
Saints defender Armel Bella-Kotchap then forced Palace keeper Sam Johnstone into a fine stop with a thumping long-range drive.
But Palace, who hit the left post through an Olise free-kick in added time, remained relatively comfortable as they held on for another precious success, which prompted boos from disgruntled home supporters.
Wolves 2 Brentford 0
Diego Costa’s first Premier League goal for six years helped fire Wolves closer to survival.
The striker inspired the hosts to a 2-0 win over Brentford to end his wait for a goal after his September arrival.
Hwang Hee-Chan netted a crucial second, with Wolves now seven points clear of the relegation zone with seven games left after successive league wins for just the second time this season.
Julen Lopetegui’s side edged towards safety and another barnstorming Costa display sparked memories of his bullying best at Chelsea.
The relegation battle, which has enveloped half the league, has now started to provide more clarity amid the chaos and Wolves will fancy their chances.
Brentford have no such worries but their European hopes continue to fade after a damaging defeat.
They remain ninth but are four points behind Brighton having played two games more. Not that failing to reach Europe should be a criticism of what has been a fine season, but it is one which is threatening to drift into mid-table comfort.
At Molineux, the Bees rarely got going and needed David Raya to superbly turn Mario Lemina’s 20-yard effort over early on.
The goalkeeper was also equal to Matheus Cunha’s strike as Wolves, who had won four of their previous six league games at Molineux, looked for a quick advantage.
Four points clear of the drop zone at kick-off, the hosts knew survival was within reach, and with confidence from last week’s win over Chelsea they continued to press.
A leaner Costa forced Raya into a low stop as he threatened to end his Wolves drought having taken time to readjust to the Premier League.
The Bees initially looked to frustrate and 18-goal Ivan Toney was on the periphery until he had two quick-fire glimpses of goal.
Bryan Mbeumo’s cross found Toney, his shot deflected into Josh Dasilva’s path but his instinctive lob dropped over the bar.
Two minutes later Toney’s drive was blocked by a sprawling Max Kilman but Wolves remained on top and opened the scoring after 27 minutes.
It was all down to Costa’s driving run from midfield as he charged forward to pick out Toti on the left.
The striker continued into the box to collect Toti’s cross, evade Christian Norgaard and stab past Raya from 12 yards for his first goal in English football since the 2017 FA Cup final.
Wolves were unbeaten in Lopetegui’s previous eight matches when they had taken the lead so the signs were ominous for Brentford.
Defeat leaves them with just two wins from their last 10 games to further dent any European hopes.
They needed a response but it never came and Raya’s sharp stop denied Costa a second four minutes after the break.
The goalkeeper, so reliable for the Bees this season, had kept them in touching distance but survived a scare soon after when Toti went down under his challenge following Mbeumo’s poor pass.
Wolves screamed for a penalty but a VAR check – by Stuart Attwell – rejected their claims, much to Molineux’s frustration.
Brentford did improve and Yoane Wissa’s tame effort was easy for Jose Sa but Wolves wrapped up victory with 21 minutes left.
It was created by Matheus Nunes – whose spectacular effort earned last week’s 1-0 win at Chelsea – as the midfielder darted down the left and skipped between Rico Henry and Vitaly Janelt.
His low cross was then blocked by Ethan Pinnock but it rolled straight into the path of Hwang to tap in.
Toney hit the bar in stoppage time but there was no way back for Brentford.
Everton 1 Fulham 3
Harry Wilson scored his first Premier League goal of the season as Fulham snapped a five-game losing run and piled the misery on relegation-threatened Everton with a 3-1 victory at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Harrison Reed and Dan James also netted for the visitors as Everton battled to contain the Londoners’ precise passing and movement. Dwight McNeil scored what proved to be a consolation for the hosts.
Fulham lie 10th in the table with 42 points from 30 games, while Everton remain just outside the relegation zone with 27 points from 31 matches and only above 18th-placed Nottingham Forest on goal difference.
It was a deserved victory for Fulham, only their second in 28 visits to Goodison Park, as they dominated large parts of the game and had Everton chasing shadows amid the bright sunshine on Merseyside.
Reed gave Fulham the lead midway through the first half when he picked up the loose ball after Wilson’s curling shot hit the post and fired past home goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Everton had a good spell just before halftime and were level at the break when McNeil skipped away from Reed’s challenge and drilled a shot low from the edge of the box into the bottom corner of the net.
Wilson put Fulham back in front early in the second half as the ball fell to him in the box and he picked his spot against a static Everton defence.
The points were sealed with a little over 20 minutes remaining when neither James Tarkowski nor Michael Keane dealt with a long free kick and James calmly finished, sending many in the ground heading for an early exit.
