Joe Willock’s thunderous second-half goal earned Newcastle United a gritty 1-0 win over Chelsea at St James’ Park on Saturday and consolidated third place in the Premier League in their final fixture before the World Cup.
Miguel Almiron cut inside Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly and nudged the ball into the path of the onrushing Willock, who unleashed a powerful first-time effort that flew past goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to bag his second league goal in as many games.
After a fifth straight league win, Newcastle have 30 points and sit two points behind second-placed Manchester City while Chelsea are level on 21 points with Brighton & Hove Albion but behind them in eighth place, having played a game more.
Newcastle had a penalty appeal turned down after defender Dan Burn’s cross hit Trevoh Chalobah’s flailing arm late in the first half while Chelsea forward Armando Broja registered the only shot on target in an otherwise uneventful opening period.
Five minutes after the restart, Newcastle came close to taking the lead when Joelinton kept alive Kieran Trippier’s cross but Chris Wood was unable to connect and Mendy scrambled the ball away.
Almiron then cut it back for Sean Longstaff, who blazed his effort over the bar, while Wood was inches away from meeting Willock’s fine cross a few minutes later as Newcastle pushed for an opener but lacked a clinical edge.
Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher forced a flying save from Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope in the 66th minute as the visitors sprung into life, but any momentum they would have built from their best attack of the game was wiped out by Willock in the very next minute.
Premier League champions Manchester City fell to their first home defeat of the season on Saturday as Ivan Toney secured a shock 2-1 win for Brentford while Tottenham Hotspur recovered from going behind three times to beat Leeds United 4-3.
Liverpool beat Southampton 3-1 as Darwin Nunez scored his first double for the team and Roberto Firmino also got on the scoresheet.
Everton manager Frank Lampard was put under renewed pressure following a 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth while James Maddison scored in a 2-0 win for Leicester City at West Ham United but was then taken off in an injury scare two days after being named in the England squad for the World Cup.
Leicester coach Brendan Rodgers sought to calm fears about the midfielder’s fitness, stating he had taken him off as a precautionary measure. Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest beat Crystal Palace 1-0 to move off the bottom of the standings.
Brentford striker Toney, who on Thursday was left out of England’s squad for the World Cup, gave the west Londoners the lead in the 16th minute at City and then clinched all three points with a 97th-minute winner after Phil Foden had equalised late in the first half.
“Speaking to some people from the club, this is probably the single biggest ever result, against one of the richest clubs in the world and we have one of the lowest budgets in the division,” said Brentford coach Thomas Frank.
City manager Pep Guardiola had no complaints with the result, adding: “The best team won, we struggled from the beginning and we couldn’t deal with their long balls.”
Tottenham again showed their resilience as well as their appetite for late drama by beating Leeds thanks to goals from Uruguay midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur in the 81st and 83rd minute.
Leeds, who had beaten Bournemouth by a 4-3 scoreline the previous week, took the lead through Crysencio Summerville while Rodrigo Moreno scored twice after Harry Kane and then Ben Davies had pulled Spurs level.
Tottenham coach Antonio Conte had been under pressure following the 2-1 home defeat by Liverpool and the elimination from the League Cup by Nottingham Forest but his side prevailed with their latest stirring comeback, also coming from behind to beat Bournemouth and Olympique de Marseille earlier this month.
“My players showed me big character in this period. In a lot of games we were losing and then we come back. For this reason I think we showed great character, great will to not give up and to believe,” said Conte.
Leeds coach Jesse Marsch added: “I’m gutted, I feel like someone has ripped my heart out.”
Newcastle United were in action against Chelsea later on Saturday while league leaders Arsenal visit Wolverhampton Wanderers with the chance to increase their advantage over City to five points.
Liverpool’s South American strikers Darwin Nunez and Roberto Firmino propelled the team to a 3-1 home win over Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday in their final match before the season pauses for the World Cup.
The victory took Liverpool into sixth place in the league standings on 22 points after 14 matches although Brighton & Hove Albion can climb back above them when they play Aston Villa on Sunday. Southampton are 19th on 12 points after 15 games.
Firmino, who this week was left out of Brazil’s squad for the World Cup, put Liverpool in front in the sixth minute by glancing an Andy Robertson free kick into the net.
Moments later Southampton replied with a similar effort, Che Adams rising to head in James Ward-Prowse’s set-piece delivery and score the club’s first goal under new manager Nathan Jones.
Uruguay international Nunez restored Liverpool’s lead in the 21st minute by volleying home a cross from 19-year-old midfielder Harvey Elliot.
The striker, who cost Liverpool a total of 95 million euros when he signed from Benfica in June, grabbed his second goal three minutes before halftime, meeting another cross from Robertson from close range.
Nunez was a handful for Southampton all afternoon, causing chaos in the air every time Liverpool sent a ball into the box and linking up well with his team mates, conjuring up an outrageous backheel to play in Firmino although the Brazilian was thwarted by Southampton keeper Gavin Bazunu.
The second half lacked the frenetic nature of the first although Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker had to make two good saves to preserve his side’s two-goal cushion while Mohamed Salah spurned a great chance when he robbed possession and raced free into the area only to miscontrol the ball.
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