Aston Villa kept the pressure cranked up at the top of the Premier League with a statement 2-0 win at Newcastle on Sunday, while Chelsea surged into the top four with a ruthless display at Crystal Palace.
Villa’s response to last weekend’s shock home defeat against Everton couldn’t have been sharper. Unai Emery’s side rolled into St James’ Park and ended a 21-year wait for a league win there, closing to within four points of leaders Arsenal.
Emi Buendía set the tone with a superb strike from outside the box after 19 minutes, curling home with real authority. Newcastle, badly missing the injured Bruno Guimarães, struggled for creativity and cohesion, and Ollie Watkins made sure of the points late on, powering in a header from Lucas Digne’s cross
with two minutes to play.
The win keeps Villa firmly in the title conversation — even if Arsenal can stretch their lead again when they host Manchester United. At the very least, Villa look increasingly comfortable in the race for Champions League football, holding an 11-point cushion over sixth-placed United.
Newcastle, meanwhile, slip to ninth, though they remain just three points off the top five in a tightly packed race for Europe.
Four Wins in First Five Games For Rosenior
In south London, Chelsea continued their upward momentum with a convincing 3-1 win over Crystal Palace, piling more misery on an Eagles side in freefall.
Palace had an early chance through Jean-Philippe Mateta, but failed to capitalise, and were punished for a costly mistake when Jaydee Canvot’s loose backpass allowed Estevão to race through and open the scoring on 34 minutes.
The Brazilian was at the heart of Chelsea’s best work, teeing up João Pedro to double the lead shortly after the break. Enzo Fernández sealed the result from the penalty spot as Chelsea made it four wins from five under Liam Rosenior, climbing into the top four and looking increasingly settled.
Palace’s afternoon went from bad to worse when Adam Wharton was sent off, and with no wins in 11 games, they are now nervously glancing over their shoulders just eight points above the relegation zone.
Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest boosted their survival hopes with a vital 2-0 win at Brentford — only the Bees’ second home defeat of the season — thanks to goals from Igor Jesus and Taiwo Awoniyi, moving Forest five points clear of danger.
(with AFP inputs)
