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Premier League round-up: Newcastle ease relegation fears, Tottenham title bid in tatters

Writer's picture: Andrew ZarbAndrew Zarb


Round-up:

In Friday's matches, Fulham suffered a 3-1 defeat away to West Ham United despite taking an early lead thanks to Ryan Babel. Javier Hernandez equalised for West Ham with a goal via his hand and should have been disallowed, though Fulham should have defended the set piece much better. One would have thought they'd have learnt their lessons from the first goal, though it clearly wasn't the case as they conceded the second goal via another corner which was awfully defended, leaving Issa Diop to head the ball into the net. Michail Antonio wrapped up the scoring for West Ham United in the 90th minute after yet more weak Fulham defending, highlighting why Fulham are second from bottom in the Premier League. Watford made it back-to-back wins after hammering Cardiff City 5-1 in Wales, with Gerard Deulofeu getting a hat-trick whilst Troy Deeney scored a brace for the Hornets, with Sol Bamba grabbing a consolation for Cardiff.

In Saturday's early kick-off, Burnley put a severe dent in Tottenham Hotspur's title ambitions thanks to a 2-1 win at Turf Moor. Chris Wood gave Burnley the lead from a dubious corner kick, which many believe should not actually have been given as Jeff Hendrick of Burnley got the final touch of the ball on its way out. Harry Kane equalised for Tottenham Hotspur with a composed finish in the bottom corner. It served to motivate Burnley further, though, as they went back in front thanks to a tap-in from Ashley Barnes after a scruffy shot from Johann Berg Gudmundsson. AFC Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw in a match which saw 3 highly controversial penalties awarded, in what was certainly not match referee Roger East's finest. Joshua King gave AFC Bournemouth the lead in the 14th minute thanks to the first penalty awarded after a soft foul by Joao Moutinho, from which King arguably went down very, very easily. Wolves were awarded a penalty of their own when AFC Bournemouth defender Adam Smith was adjudged to have fouled Matt Doherty (although it is quite debatable), and Raul Jimenez coolly converted. AFC Bournemouth were awarded another penalty themselves when Ivan Cavaleiro was adjudged to have brought down Ryan Fraser in the box, though first of all if anything the foul was outside of the penalty area, and secondly it may be argued that Fraser clattered into Cavaleiro's leg. However, this time Joshua King could not convert as he hit the post and the penalty rolled wide as a result. This draw means Wolverhampton Wanderers have extended their unbeaten run to 5 consecutive league matches.

Newcastle United made it 3 consecutive home wins in the League after taking advantage of Huddersfield Town playing for over an hour of the match with 10 men. Tommy Smith was sent off for Huddersfield Town after a high tackle on Newcastle United's record signing Miguel Almiron. Salomon Rondon gave Newcastle the lead after just 59 seconds of the second half, and Ayoze Perez wrapped up the win for the hosts 6 minutes later. In the evening kick-off, Roy Hodgson celebrated the milestone of becoming the oldest man to ever manage a Premier League match in style, as Crystal Palace beat Leicester City 4-1 at the King Power Stadium. Mitchy Batshuayi gave Palace the lead after he deflected a shot from midfielder James McArthur. Jonny Evans equalised in the 64th minute for Leicester City, before Wilfried Zaha restored the lead for Crystal Palace just 6 minutes later. Crystal Palace were awarded a penalty in the 80th minute after Jeffrey Schlupp was fouled by Jonny Evans, and Luka Milivojevic (who else?) duly converted it. Zaha wrapped up the scoring with a powerful shot which beat Kasper Schmeichel in the 93rd minute.

Results:

Match played on 6th February

Everton 0 Manchester City 2

Friday

Cardiff City 1 Watford 5

West Ham United 3 Fulham 1

Saturday

Burnley 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1

AFC Bournemouth 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1

Newcastle United 2 Huddersfield Town 0

Leicester City 1 Crystal Palace 4

To be played tomorrow:

Arsenal v Southampton Manchester United v Liverpool (Both matches kick-off at 15:05 CET)

Note: Chelsea v Brighton & Hove Albion has been postponed due to tomorrow's Carabao Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City, and no rescheduled date has been given as of yet.


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