Aston Villa 1 Nottingham Forest 0
Aston Villa continued their incredible resurgence under Unai Emery as a comfortable 2-0 victory over relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest saw the Villans move within four points of the Premier League top-five, while extending their unbeaten league run to seven matches.
With only table-toppers Arsenal recording more league wins than Aston Villa since Emery’s appointment in late October, the hosts dominated the early stages against a struggling Forest side with just one victory on the road all season. Ollie Watkins, looking to extend his impressive run of form, dragged an early effort wide of the post, while Keylor Navas stood firm to thwart a close-range header from the in-form forward.
Forest gradually grew into the contest as the first half progressed, however clear-cut chances were at a premium for both sides, with the scores remaining level at the interval.
After a disappointing opening 45 minutes, Villa emerged after the restart eager to stamp their authority on proceedings, and duly broke the deadlock within three minutes.
A misplaced pass from Jonjo Shelvey fell straight into the path of Bertrand Traore, who coolly dispatched a low effort into the far corner to score for the second league match in succession.
Intent on pressing home their advantage going into the final half-hour, Villa went in pursuit of a second goal to put the game beyond reach, however wasteful finishing from Emiliano Buendia kept Forest within touching distance.
Despite just a single goal separating the two sides, the visitors looked devoid of ideas in their search of a late equaliser, and Villa added late gloss to the scoreline in stoppage time when Watkins chipped Navas with a stunning finish.
The result sees Villa continue their unlikely pursuit of European football with a fourth consecutive PL triumph, while Forest remain deep in relegation trouble, following a ninth league match without victory.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alex Moreno (Aston Villa)
Check out all the stats from the game now.
Brentford 1 Newcastle United 2
Newcastle United maintained their push for continental qualification with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory at Brentford which extends their winning run in the Premier League to five matches.
The Magpies have their sights firmly set on a first UEFA Champions League campaign since 2002-03, but they knew they would be in for a stern challenge against a Bees side who have one of the best home records in the PL this season.
Brentford’s inspirational captain Pontus Jansson was heavily involved in the early stages, as he saw his header cleared off the line by Nick Pope, before Ivan Toney poked home from close range, however the goal was ruled out for offside after a lengthy VAR check.
The Swede then saw his headed effort go just over the crossbar, before his afternoon was ended prematurely a couple of minutes later when he was forced off through injury.
This didn’t deter the hosts though, and with the half-hour mark approaching they were awarded a penalty when Kevin Schade was brought down by Sven Botman.
Toney has been described by manager Thomas Frank as the best penalty taker in the world, however Pope was equal to his effort on this occasion.
The in-form striker was then handed a second opportunity to score from the spot with the interval approaching when Rico Henry was brought down by Alexander Isak, and this time he made no mistake to give the hosts a 1-0 lead at the break.
Eddie Howe will have demanded a much better showing from his side in the second half, and in the space of 15 minutes after the restart he got exactly that.
Joelinton drew the Magpies level when his shot from a tight angle went in off David Raya, before Callum Wilson, who had been brought on as a half-time substitute, laid the ball back to Isak whose first-time effort flew into the top right corner to complete the comeback.
Wilson had a goal of his own ruled out for handball, but it proved academical as the Magpies held on to collect yet another three points which ensures they stay third, with the Bees remaining ninth.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Joelinton (Newcastle United)
Fulham 0 West Ham United 1
West Ham United secured a vital 1-0 win over Fulham in the Premier League, as David Moyes went a 14th consecutive H2H against the Cottagers undefeated to give the Hammers and their manager some much-needed respite.
Both teams were left in a state in midweek, as it was adjudged that Marco Silva and Aleksandar Mitrovic were suspended for two and eight matches respectively, while the Hammers were humiliated by Newcastle United.
Moyes responded by making five changes and deploying two up top and received the slice of luck he so desperately needed 23 minutes in, when Jarrod Bowen capitalised on a weak clearance and fizzed across a ball that Harrison Reed clumsily turned into his own net.
Fulham had pretty much all of the possession before and after the opener without seriously troubling West Ham’s stubborn defence, with Andreas Pereira and Willian both hitting shots that were blocked by Kurt Zouma.
While Antonee Robinson found some rare space around the edge of the Hammers’ box before the break, the full-back was unable to keep his effort down as Lukasz Fabianski went the whole first-half without having to make a save.
The Hammers started the second-half by creating problems at both ends as there was a mix-up between Angelo Ogbonna and Aaron Cresswell, before Bowen slipped through Danny Ings for an effort that was well stopped by Bernd Leno.
After seeing his side endure a real struggle for an hour, Moyes changed the shape and the Hammers initially showed greater attacking intent with Ogbonna trying an acrobatic shot.
With the Cottagers applying pressure, Fabianski magnificently dove at Pereira’s feet as the Brazilian tried to round him late on, ensuring that West Ham hung on to secure just their second away league win of the season, lifting themselves three points above the relegation zone before turning attentions to their UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-final first leg against Gent.
Fulham’s own European aspirations continued to falter after the Cottagers suffered their fourth consecutive league defeat.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kurt Zouma (West Ham United)
Check out all the stats from the game now.
Leicester City 0 Bournemouth 1
Philip Billing’s first-half goal was enough for Bournemouth to complete their first league double over Leicester City since 1988/89, as the Cherries moved out of the relegation zone.
Up against 18th-placed Bournemouth, to say that a second-bottom and managerless Leicester City needed all three points would be an understatement.
But it was the visitors who came closest to finding an early opener in stunning fashion, when Philip Billing smashed his free-kick against the left-hand post.
The Cherries remained on top as the half continued, soon testing Daniel Iversen, who did well to keep out Billing’s strike from the edge of the area.
Soon after, Dominic Solanke became the latest to waste an opportunity, dragging an effort wide of the post.
But just when it looked like their pressure would not see them go in with a deserved half-time lead, Bournemouth were soon rewarded, and Billing finally got his goal at the third time of asking.
The midfielder took full advantage of James Maddison’s poor attempt at a back-pass, before leaving Iversen with no chance with a fine finish in the 40th minute.
Not much changed after the break, as Bournemouth once again looked likelier to find a second rather than concede an equaliser.
In fact, if it wasn’t for the defiance of Iversen, Gary O'Neil’s side would have found their second of the afternoon through Solanke, whose strike looked destined to find the bottom left-hand corner, but for the goalkeeper’s diving save.
The Foxes took until the hour mark to show signs of life, as the introduction of Kelechi Iheanacho began to change the tide of proceedings, before Maddison tested Neto for the first time and forced him to tip an effort over the bar.
It was too little too late as far as Leicester were concerned, however, as Bournemouth remained resolute to move up into 15th and out of the relegation zone, leaving the Foxes two points adrift of safety.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Philip Billing (Bournemouth)
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Harry Kane struck the winner as UEFA Champions League-chasing Tottenham Hotspur rode their luck to beat fellow European hopefuls Brighton & Hove Albion in North London - Spurs' fifth consecutive home victory in the Premier League.
A confident Brighton side began the contest on the front foot, but it was the hosts who drew first blood thanks to Son Heung-min’s sensational 10th-minute strike.
The South Korean international cut inside from the left flank before unleashing an unstoppable curling effort into the top corner. While Son celebrated becoming the first Asian player to score 100 Premier League goals, the visitors quickly set about finding an equaliser.
Kaoru Mitoma looked to have levelled the contest, but he was penalised for controlling the ball with his arm and his strike was chalked off.
The undeterred visitors continued to surge forward with real purpose and tested the returning Hugo Lloris in Spurs’ goal.
First, Alexis Mac Allister forced the Frenchman into a smart save with a powerful effort from distance, and the Tottenham goalkeeper was required again just seconds later to push Moises Caicedo’s driven strike onto the post.
The Brighton pressure finally told just after the half-hour mark though when Solly March’s deep corner found the unmarked Lewis Dunk, who produced a thumping header to restore parity.
Within 10 minutes of the restart, Danny Welbeck thought he had completed the Brighton turnaround, but his left-footed strike went in off Mac Allister’s right hand, ensuring Brighton had a goal disallowed for the second time of the afternoon.
With the match on a knife edge, the heightened tensions were reflected in the respective dugouts as a melee broke out on the touchline between the coaching staff, resulting in red cards for Cristian Stellini and Roberto De Zerbi for failing to control their technical areas.
Not long after Mitoma had strong appeals for a penalty waved away, Tottenham carved out a winning goal through their talisman, Kane.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s neat cut-back found the run of the England captain, and he duly swept home his 23rd league goal of the season to earn a priceless victory.
Fifth-placed Spurs sit three points adrift of the top-four, albeit having played a game more than their rivals, while the Seagulls drop down to seventh position after a first Premier League defeat since February.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Find out all the stats as well as player ratings with Flashscore.
Wolves 1 Chelsea 0
Interim Chelsea boss Frank Lampard suffered a Premier League defeat in his first match back in charge of the Blues, failing to break down a relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers side at Molineux Stadium.
Chelsea have been criticised heavily for their lack of cutting edge, and following a 0-0 draw with Liverpool last time out, that worrying trend continued from the off.
The opening half-hour was short on goalmouth action as Wolves went toe-to-toe with the underperforming Blues, before Matheus Nunes handed them the lead in style.
A partially-cleared bouncing ball dropped the way of the Portuguese international, who struck it firmly across the face of goal and into the top corner.
Starting against his former team, Diego Costa came close to adding a second before the interval, but his close-range shot was stifled by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
A much-improved attacking display was needed from visitors, who ramped up the pressure in search of an equaliser after the break. Chelsea’s bright spark has so often been Joao Felix in recent weeks, and the on-loan forward was involved once again as referee Peter Bankes waved away his penalty appeals.
Hoping to build on their narrow lead, Wolves looked to hit the Blues on the counter, but a promising breakaway led by Matheus Cunha eventually came to nothing.
Lampard made several alterations as time ticked away, but despite racking up 13 shots, the away side struggled to create presentable goal scoring opportunities.
Julen Lopetegui’s Wolves remained well-organised, seeing out a potentially pivotal victory that lifts them to 12th in the PL, four points clear of a congested relegation zone. Meanwhile, Chelsea ultimately came up short yet again, leaving them languishing in midtable with seemingly little to play for.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Matheus Nunes (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
