NEWCASTLE, England: Reece James scored a second-half double to lead Chelsea to a 3-0 victory at Newcastle on Saturday, extending the London club’s lead at the top of the Premier League to three points.
The defender broke the deadlock against relegation-threatened Newcastle in the 65th minute. Callum Hudson-Odoi’s cross fell to Reece on the right edge of the area and he slammed home a left-footed finish from a tight angle.
Chelsea began to find pockets of space as Newcastle legs tired and when Hudson-Odoi’s fierce drive struck Ciaran Clark, James fired in again in the 77th.
The visitors’ relentless approach was further rewarded three minutes later when Jorginho converted a penalty after Kai Havertz was tripped by goalkeeper Karl Darlow.
Chelsea was helped by second-place Liverpool being held 2-2 by Brighton. Newcastle remains next-to-last in the Premier League after equaling its longest winless run at the beginning of a top-flight season of 10 games, which was set in 1898 and 2018.
Graeme Jones remains in temporary charge of Newcastle following the Saudi-led takeover and the departure of Steve Bruce.
Chelsea extends Premier League lead by beating Newcastle 3-0
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Chelsea extends Premier League lead by beating Newcastle 3-0
- Chelsea defender Reece James scored a second-half double to lead Chelsea to a 3-0 victory at St. James’ Park
- Jorginho also converted a penalty after Kai Havertz was tripped by Newcastle goalkeeper Karl Darlow
Nantes axe coach Kantari, turn to club hero Halilhodzic
- The 73-year-old Halilhodzic was a star striker for Nantes in the 1980s
- Halilhodzic’s first match in charge will be against Strasbourg
NANTES, France: Struggling Nantes fired coach Ahmed Kantari on Tuesday and announced veteran Vahid Halilhodzic would take over “until the end of the season.”
Kantari was hired on December 10 but lost eight out of 10 Ligue 1 matches, concluding with a 1-0 home loss to Angers.
Nantes are 17th in the table facing automatic relegation.
The 73-year-old Halilhodzic was a star striker for Nantes in the 1980s and led the club to the 1983 French title with 27 goals. He had an earlier stint as the club’s coach, when he took over eight games into the 2018-19 season.
His long management career has also included stops at Lille, Rennes, Paris Saint-Germain, Raja Casablanca, Dynamo Zagreb, Trabzonspor (twice) and coaching the national teams of Japan, Algeria, Ivory Coast and finally Morocco, where his three year stint ended in 2022 with what appeared to be retirement.
Halilhodzic’s first match in charge will be against Strasbourg, contenders for European qualification, on the March 22, before two crucial away games at last-placed Metz and then Auxerre who are currently two points and one place above Nantes in the relegation-playoff spot.
