Premier League roundup: Saints stun Chelsea as Man City lose vital ground in title race
Chelsea - Southampton 0-1
Premier League strugglers Southampton grabbed a stunning victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge thanks to a deadly free-kick from James Ward-Prowse, recording a vital three points for just the second time in 12 league matches.
Both sides have endured substandard seasons so far, and whilst it is likely to end in a mid-table finish for Graham Potter’s Chelsea, it looks to be a dire situation for Southampton, who sacked manager Nathan Jones after a bizarre 94-day tenure in which he lost all but one game.
They went into their trip to Stamford Bridge as the league's bottom club, managed by interim boss Ruben Selles, who has recently made clear his intentions to audition for the permanent role.
Despite their recent woes, the Saints flew out of the blocks. The visitors dominated the early possession, and Kamaldeen Sulemana tested Chelsea stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga before towering new signing Paul Onuachu saw a header loop just wide of the post.
Chelsea failed to get a foothold in the game, despite the efforts of January signing Noni Madueke, who shot into the side netting.
The visitors reaped the rewards for their first-half performance on the stroke of halftime in familiar fashion, as they opened the scoring courtesy of a fantastic whipped 25-yard free-kick from specialist Ward-Prowse. The goal took the Southampton captain to within one of David Beckham’s league record of 18 free-kick goals.
Chelsea had made numerous changes to the side that succumbed to a 1-0 UEFA Champions League defeat on Wednesday, but the Blues still looked jaded. Nevertheless, the tide shifted, with the home side controlling the match and Southampton playing on the counter.
Raheem Sterling’s introduction made an impact, and the England international saw two attempts blocked, most importantly a diving header which made its way past Gavin Bazunu, but not defender Romain Perraud, who cleared off the line.
A serious head injury to Cesar Azpilicueta led to 12 minutes of injury time, which gave the hosts a chance to find an equaliser, but Southampton defended fearlessly and saw out a famous win. While not enough to lift them from the foot of the table, victory under Selles will certainly be a boost to the Saints in both points tally and morale.
Now with just three wins in his last 17 matches in all competitions at Chelsea, Potter may be fearing for his future as his team head to Tottenham Hotspur next weekend.
Flashscore Man of the Match: James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)
See stats from the match at Flashscore
Nottingham Forest - Manchester City 1-1
Chris Wood came off the bench to score a late equaliser as Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 against Manchester City after the Reds had made it a very awkward afternoon for the Citizens on their first visit to the City Ground since 2001.
As was expected, Pep Guardiola’s side took complete control of proceedings from the off. However, having been swept aside at the Etihad, Forest were putting their bodies on the line as Joe Worrall and Serge Aurier both made important blocks in the opening 10 minutes.
While the hosts’ attacking hopes were always fleeting, they were doing well enough defensively for Kevin De Bruyne to hit two speculative, and ultimately harmless, shots from range as the half-hour mark approached.
City came progressively closer to unlocking the Reds' defence in the final quarter-hour of the half, with Rodri heading wide, Ilkay Gundogan being denied, and Bernardo Silva’s strike flashing wide of the post.
Undeterred from that near-miss, Silva fired off a first-time effort when Jack Grealish played a perfectly-weighted pass across to him four minutes before the break, finding the target this time to leave Keylor Navas helpless.
Phil Foden had a glorious opportunity shortly after the break when he was slipped through by Gundogan, but stuck in two minds, he waited too long to roll the ball across to Erling Haaland and allowed Felipe to get across to clear.
Haaland then epitomised City’s frustrations in front of goal as they searched for a second, hitting the crossbar when Foden’s initial shot was saved and smashing his own follow-up over. Shortly after, Navas made his best save of the game to tip Gundogan’s free-kick over.
Steve Cooper turned to Wood in an attempt to capitalise on City’s wastefulness and the plan worked perfectly, as the striker popped up at the back post to turn in Morgan Gibbs-White’s low cross and score his first Reds goal, extending Forest’s unbeaten home run to eight league matches.
Meanwhile, City have now won just one of their last four away games in all competitions and have fallen behind Arsenal just one game after beating the Gunners to go top.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Felipe (Nottingham Forest)
See stats from the match at Flashscore
Everton - Leeds 1-0
Everton climbed out of the relegation zone by beating Leeds United at Goodison Park. A 10th successive league match without victory equals Leeds’ worst-ever run - a record that stretches back to 1997.
A relegation six-pointer in every sense of the word, the tension was palpable on Merseyside as two of England’s most historic clubs did battle with both trying to preserve their top-flight status.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, neither side was willing to take too many risks in a very cagey opening period, with mistakes potentially proving fatal. That rang especially true for Everton, who’ve managed just one goal from open play since late October in the league.
Toffees midfield dynamo Amadou Onana started to have a greater influence on the game as halftime approached but he failed to add to his goal tally for the season with an effort from the edge of the area that flew over the bar.
Sean Dyche’s men were on top, with Neal Maupay seeing a header cleared off the line by Weston McKennie before James Tarkowski’s back-post effort was brilliantly steered away from danger by Illan Meslier.
With the second half following a very similar pattern of limited quality in the final thirds, a moment of magic from the Everton captain broke the deadlock and sent the home fans wild. Seamus Coleman broke free behind the Leeds defence and with nobody waiting in the box, his delivery deceived Meslier and flew in at the near post, marking the Irishman’s first goal since February 2022 - a strike which also came against Leeds.
As has been the case so often this term, Leeds looked a constant threat but lacked the clinical edge in the final third to truly test Jordan Pickford as they fell to 19th, just a point clear of the foot of the table.
Goodison Park has been a miserable destination for them, winning just one of their last 16 league visits. A priceless three points lifts a peculiar hoodoo for Toffees boss Sean Dyche, with his first-ever top-flight victory over Leeds meaning he now boasts victories over all 31 of his league opponents as a manager.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Amadou Onana (Everton)
See stats from the match at Flashscore
Brentford - Crystal Palace 1-1
Brentford extended their unbeaten run to 11 in the Premier League thanks to a 96th-minute Vitaly Janelt equaliser to secure a draw against Crystal Palace. The point leaves the Bees just four points behind the European places.
Coming into this encounter it was a tale of contrasting recent fortunes as Brentford came into this match unbeaten in their last ten league matches, whilst Crystal Palace found themselves without a win in their last six league outings matches. Furthermore, the hosts were second in the league on home form and yet to be beaten this season (W3, D2).
The action started from the off, and an early yellow card for both sides set the scene for a feisty battle ahead. However, despite a multitude of chances and attempts on goal - three on target each - neither side could make the all-important breakthrough before halftime.
The stalemate saw Palace increase their impressive stat of having now kept a first-half clean sheet in eight of their eleven away league games this season.
With all three previous league battles ending level, the omens were pointing to yet another shutout. However, rather than accepting that fate, both sides started the second half with intent on finding an opener.
A series of positive changes for both sides with 30 minutes to go saw an increase in chances, but with the home fans bellowing their support, the Bees began to take hold of the ball (avg. of 60% second-half possession) and a win for the hosts looked increasingly more likely.
But as is often the case in football, that script was temporarily torn up when substitute Eberechi Eze scored for the visitors in the 69th minute via a header from close range into the top-left corner following a superb assist by Michael Olise.
With fifteen minutes remaining, Brentford made a final roll of the dice with two late attacking changes in the hope of finding a late equaliser. It paid off in dramatic fashion when Janelt scored a last-gasp equaliser deep into added time to deny the Eagles a much-needed win.
Palace remain rooted in 12th place. Meanwhile, Thomas Frank’s high-flying Bees remain just four points off the European qualification spots.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)
See stats from the match at Flashscore
Brighton - Fulham 0-1
Manor Solomon scored an 88th-minute winner as newly-promoted Fulham sensationally climbed into the Premier League top-six with a win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
As is often the case, Brighton dominated possession throughout the first period, working the ball well in tight spaces. Pervis Estupinan had an early opportunity to test Bernd Leno, but held onto the ball for too long, seeing the chance pass him by.
With halftime approaching, the hosts continued to probe, yet were well marshalled by an organised Fulham defence. Evan Ferguson had a sniff at goal, but an attentive Leno was on hand to close him down, before a dangerous pull-back from Estupinan was cut out to keep the Seagulls at bay.
Brighton amped up the pressure after the break and should have taken the lead when Lewis Dunk headed wide at the back post from a corner before strong penalty appeals from Joel Veltman were ignored.
Solly March had the ball in the back of the net minutes later, but having previously scored just one league goal from a corner this season, the hosts were denied by an offside flag. At this stage, the home crowd were well and truly behind Roberto De Zerbi’s side, and a quick counter led by March nearly broke the deadlock, but Leno was equal to Alexis Mac Allister’s volleyed attempt.
The largely one-way traffic continued into the final minutes, and Facundo Buonanotte thought he’d netted the winner, but an offside in the build-up denied the 18-year-old.
Incredibly, Solomon stole the show with a strong run and precise finish at the death against the run of play - just Fulham’s second shot on target. The winger's second goal in as many games sees the Cottagers leapfrog Brighton in the standings, denying them a first league double since 1993 in the process.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Bernd Leno (Fulham)
See stats from the match at Flashscore
Wolves - Bournemouth 0-1
Marcus Tavernier’s second-half effort gave Bournemouth a first away win in nine and catapulted them out of the relegation zone for the first time in almost a month. In breaking their Premier League duck against Wolves, they may well have afforded boss Gary O’Neil some well-needed breathing space.
Results dependent, Wolves had the chance to move up to a lofty 12th place in their aim to become the first team in Premier League history to finish inside the top half after being bottom at Christmas.
Julen Lopetegui has performed miracles, with his new recruits Matheus Cunha and Pablo Sarabia proving their pedigree early on pinning the Cherries back searching for an opener. The combination almost came to fruition, but Sarabia’s effort from a Cunha cutback went straight at Neto in a one-sided first half.
Dominic Solanke cut a frustrated figure as he was devoid of service throughout, but took the game by the scruff of the neck shortly after the break. He was played in down the right, before whipping in an enticing ball across the six-yard line. Tavernier couldn’t miss as he turned the ball goalwards with his thigh past José Sá, who until that point had very little to do.
For a side that had not kept a clean sheet in the last nine, O’Neil’s men defended resolutely and loanee Jack Stephens highlighted their spirit blocking bravely from a powerful Cunha strike. Game management was the key to the closing stages and barring a weak Craig Dawson header Neto was severely underworked as they wrapped up the points.
Flashscore Player of the Match: Marcos Senesi (Bournemouth)