🦁Man City down Saints; Chelsea fall again; Spurs, Newcastle & Man Utd win | OneFootball

There were eight Premier League fixtures throughout the day on Saturday. Here is what went down around the grounds.

Man City steamroll Southampton

Scorers: Haaland 45′, 67′, Grealish 58′, Álvarez (PEN) 75′

Manchester City cruised to a comfortable victory over Southampton to put pressure on league leaders Arsenal but cutting the lead at the top to five points.

City controlled the flow of the game in the opening 15 minutes as expected, and perhaps should have had their noses in front after a superb counter-attack. But the resulting Grealish effort was well saved by Gavin Bazunu.

Saints slowly clawed their way back into the game as the first half wore on, but struggled to threaten the Blues mightily.

The champions would not be denied forever though. Shortly after a high quality Saints chance at the other end, Kevin De Bruyne picked out Erling Haaland, who marked his return to the team by heading home from close range for his 29th of the campaign.

City carried their momentum over into the second half, and doubled their lead just before the hour mark when a rip-roaring counter-attack was capped off by Jack Grealish, who collected his own rebounded shot to tap home.

The final nail was driven into the Saints coffin just ten minutes later, and in style. Another scintillating counter-attack was finished off by a gravity-defying Erling Haaland overhead kick, putting City three ahead and firmly in the driver’s seat.

A quality Sékou Mara strike cut the lead back to two, but the St. Mary’s celebrations were cut short by the referee, who awarded City a penalty-kick just two minutes later.

The spot-kick was dispatched by Julián Álvarez, reclaiming a three-goal lead that City would take to the final whistle, emphatically cutting Arsenal’s lead at the top to five points for now.

Spurs down Brighton in top-six clash

Scorers: Son 10′, Kane 79′ ; Dunk 34′

Tottenham got the start they desperately needed after a limp draw against Everton last time out, and it was Son Heung-min who fired the hosts in front in style.

After cutting in on his right foot, the Korean curled a superb effort home from the edge of the box to set the Tottenham Hotspur stadium alight, and etch his name into history as the first Asian player to register 100 goals in the Premier League.

Brighton responded well however, and got themselves back level from a corner kick, as captain Lewis Dunk was left completely unmarked at the back post where he headed home with aplomb.

Danny Welbeck appeared to fire Brighton into the lead after the break, but Spurs’ blushes were spared by a handball in the build up, keeping the score level.

The action continued, but this time on the touchlines, as a fracas between the benches lead to both managers being shown red cards and sent to the dressing rooms early.

Tottenham somehow found a way to snatch their lead back against the run of play, as Harry Kane capped off a superb counter-attack by firing his shot in past the keeper from the edge of the box.

Chelsea blanked in Wolverhampton

Scorers: Nunes 31′

Frank Lampard suffered a loss in his first game back as Chelsea boss, as his side drew another blank, this time away to Wolves.

The new-look Blues struggled to create any high-danger scoring chances in the opening exchanges, but their intent to attack Wolves was clear from the start.

Chelsea fears became a reality just past the 30th minute, as Matheus Nunes came careening onto a headed clearance before lashing a rocket of a shot in past Kepa to bring the Molineux crowd to their feet, and register his first in old gold.

Chelsea’s struggles from the Graham Potter did not appear to leave with him, as they found it difficult to break down a resolute Wolves defence. The frustrations were clear on the faces of the Blues players and staff as each chance went begging.

The home side held on in the face of the mounting Chelsea pressure, inflicting a blow to Frank Lampard’s return to the helm. It was a crucial result for Julen Lopetegui’s side as well, seeing them move four points clear of the relegation zone for now.

Villa squeeze past Forest

Scorers: Traoré 48′, Watkins 90+5′

Aston Villa squeezed past Nottingham Forest to move up to 6th place in the Premier League, announcing their contention for the top-six places after a red-hot March.

Villa took a stranglehold of the possession in the early goings, but struggled to use it to their advantage. While Forest were kept at bay, Unai Emery’s men did little to threaten Keylor Navas in the Forest goal.

A scoreless game at the break showed all you need to know about the attacking output from either team in the opening 45 minutes, as nuetrals will hope for a bit more action after the restart.

Villa Park was brought to it’s feet almost instantaneously in the second half, as half-time substitute Bertrand Traoré made an immediate impact after coming on by firing Villa into the lead from close range.

A stoppage time Ollie Watkins strike would be all that Villa required to drive the final nail in Forest’s, as they secured a massive three points and move to within touching distance of the European places.

Newcastle reclaim third with hard fought win

Scorers: Toney 45+1′ ; Joelinton 54′, Isak 61′

A second half comeback saw Newcastle scrape past Brentford, to keep the Geordies in the top-four for the time being.

It was a shock start for the resurgent Magpies, as they appeared to find themselves 1-0 down to an Ivan Toney strike in the opening 10 minutes, but a VAR  check revealed the Brentford forward was narrowly offside and the goal was chalked off.

A stale first half was finally brought to life when Sven Botman brought down Fabian Schär in the box, seeing Brentford given a penalty before the 30 minute mark.

Astonishingly however, Ivan Toney sent his effort from the spot right into the grateful grasp of the keeper, missing his first penalty kick since 2018 for Peterborough United.

Toney redeemed himself however, firing Brentford into the lead after getting another chance from the spot in the final minutes of the first half.

It did not take long for the Magpies to reclaim parity in the second half, as Joelinton showed off his footwork, jinking through the Brentford defence before narrowly sliding the leveler through the legs of David Raya.

It quickly got worse for the Bees, as Alexander Isak continued his red-hot form by sweeping a shot into the top corner, scoring his fifth goal in five games and snatching a crucial lead for Newcastle.

Eddie Howe’s men held on and secured a vital win against a well-drilled Brentford side, ensuring the Magpies hold onto their top-four status.

West Ham secure vital London derby victory

Scorers: Reed (OG) 26′

After a slow moving opening 20 minutes, West Ham found the opening goal they desperately desired, but it required a stroke of luck.

After a super slalom through the Fulham box, Jarrod Bowen fired his cross into the six-yard box where it struck the leg of Harrison Reed before ricocheting into the back of the net to send the Hammers in front.

David Moyes’ side looked happy with a one-goal lead as they slowed the pace down and looked to see out the final minutes of the game.

However, dropping into a shell and inviting Fulham pressure would have given even the most hardened West Ham fan some nervous moments.

They would not be punished for being so passive however, as the Hammers held firm and collected a crucial win in their bid for Premier League survival.

Leicester falter in first post-Rodgers showing

Scorers: Billing 40′

The Foxes looked keen to start the post-Brendan Rodgers era off well, but were quickly brought back down to earth as Bournemouth saw the bulk of the possession in the opening half hour.

It was the same kind of passive football that has left Leicester threatened by relegation, but the game is still young for the King Power outfit.

They were punished for their lack of intent just before the break, as Phillip Billing pounced on a giveaway by the Leicester defence before slotting home past the onrushing keeper, firing Bournemouth into the lead.

Normal service resumed in the second half, as Leicester struggled to claw their way back into the game, despite reclaiming some of the possession.

It could be a devastating result for the Foxes, as another loss sees them remain in the bottom three, two points from safety for now.

United claim back-to-back wins

Scorers: McTominay 36′, Martial 71′

Manchester United temporarily moved up to third in the Premier League with back-to-back victories by comfortably seeing off relegation strugglers Everton.

Erik ten Hag made three changes from his side which overcame Brentford in midweek as Harry Maguire replaced Raphael Varane at the heart of defence.

An action-packed first half saw Marcel Sabitzer fire an early warning shot with an effort on the turn in the third minute that flew just past Jordan Pickford’s right-hand post.

Pickford continued to be kept busy as Marcus Rashford forced a low stop before the goalkeeper had to punch clear from his in-form England teammate.

United should have taken a deserved first-half lead when Antony drilled an effort which beat Pickford but came back off the woodwork before Aaron Wan-Bissaka spurned the rebound wide.

The visitors’ best chance of the opening 20 minutes saw young striker Ellis  Simms roll a shot narrowly past David de Gea’s far post after being allowed to make inroads on goal.

Pickford was soon called back into action to deny a second Sabitzer shot after the Toffees’ defence was exposed before he had to deny Antony at a breakaway.

Sean Dyche’s side continued to be punished for playing a high line as Rashford was given free reign for another one-on-one with Pickford but came up short against his opposite number.

But United eventually broke the deadlock through Scott McTominay meeting Jadon Sancho’s through ball with a tidy finish in the 36th minute.

Everton almost fell further behind as Sabitzer’s ball over the top found Rashford unmarked before he was again thwarted by Pickford, who also denied Anthony in first-half added time.

Dyche replaced a struggling Ben Godfrey with Vitalii Mykolenko at the interval in efforts to stem United’s attacking tide in the opening 45 minutes.

Despite a brief spell of Everton pressure, Pickford was again called into action to tip a Bruno Fernandes header over his crossbar before stopping Wan-Bissaka’s shot from the ensuing corner.

United doubled their lead in the final 20 minutes through substitute Anthony Martial rolling the ball home after Rashford comfortably dispossessed Séamus Coleman.

Sunday’s matches: