LONDON: Cole Palmer inspired Chelsea to a 2-1 victory over Newcastle as West Ham piled more pressure on beleaguered Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag with a dramatic win by the same scoreline on Sunday.
Tottenham were beaten 1-0 at Crystal Palace, who picked up their first win of the season.
Chelsea had been beaten in the Premier League for the first time since Enzo Maresca’s first match in charge at Liverpool last weekend despite an impressive performance.
The Blues got back to winning ways with Palmer at the heart of their best work.
The England international had a goal marginally ruled out for offside inside the first five minutes.
Palmer was the creator for the opening goal, despite not being credited with the assist, as his sumptuous ball over the top freed Pedro Neto, who picked out Nicolas Jackson to slot in his sixth goal of the season.
Newcastle are now winless in five league games as the pressure mounts on Eddie Howe ahead of a rematch against Chelsea in the League Cup on Wednesday.
The Magpies did get back on level terms before half-time as Alexander Isak tapped in Lewis Hall’s cross at the end of a well-worked move.
Palmer took just two minutes into the second period to make the decisive impact with a driving run forward and powerful finish that beat Nick Pope at his near post.
Newcastle should have left London with a point, though, as Isak botched a huge chance to level 15 minutes from time after rounding Robert Sanchez.
Ten Hag was left to rue a familiar lack of ruthlessness as United’s fourth league defeat in nine games will spark further speculation on how long he will be given to turn the Red Devils’ fortunes around.
The visitors should have been out of sight by half-time at the London Stadium.
Alejandro Garnacho hit the woodwork inside two minutes and Edson Alvarez also headed off his own crossbar.
But it was Diogo Dalot who missed the biggest chance when the Portuguese international somehow fired over with the goal gaping after rounding Lukasz Fabianski.
Under-fire West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui showed his disgust with the Hammers’ first-half display by making three substitutions at the break.
Crysencio Summerville was one of those introduced and he slid in to open the scoring against the run of play on 74 minutes.
Casemiro brought United level nine minutes from time with a header from point-blank range.
But there was late drama when VAR intervened for a foul on Danny Ings by Matthijs de Ligt.
Jarrod Bowen smashed in the resulting spot-kick to take West Ham above United, who sink to 14th in the table.
Palace began the day in the relegation zone but were good value for the three points at Selhurst Park as Tottenham’s struggles on the road continue.
Eberechi Eze’s deft flick teed up Jean-Philippe Mateta to fire home the only goal.
Eze had a second ruled out for offside in the second half, but Tottenham, without injured captain Son Heung-min, were toothless in attack.
Spurs have won just once in five away league games this season as they slip to eighth, four points off the top four.
Cole Palmer fires Chelsea to victory over Newcastle, West Ham pile more pressure on Ten Hag
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Cole Palmer fires Chelsea to victory over Newcastle, West Ham pile more pressure on Ten Hag
- The Blues got back to winning ways with Palmer at the heart of their best work
Paddy Pimblett sizes up Justin Gaethje as UFC comes to Paramount
- Pimblett and Gaethje will be fighting for the interim lightweight title belt after champion Ilia Topuria announced a leave of absence from the sport amidst mounting personal issues
LAS VEGAS: Dana White and the UFC begin a new era on Saturday night.
Rising star Paddy Pimblett and former interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje will headline UFC 324 in what marks the company’s first numbered card since the highly publicized seven-year, $7.7 billion broadcast deal with Paramount became official on Jan. 1.
Pimblett and Gaethje will be fighting for the interim lightweight title belt after champion Ilia Topuria announced a leave of absence from the sport amidst mounting personal issues. As a result, the winner of Gaethje vs. Pimblett will be directly in line for a shot at Topuria’s undisputed title belt upon his return.
UFC 324 also marks the first time that Pimblett, arguably the UFC’s most viral star over the past two years, will finally get the chance to main event a numbered card. Pimblett, a Liverpool native, became a fan favorite long before he was in the main event picture and even before he was in the UFC, owing to his brash, Conor McGregor-like demeanor and his catchy Scouse accent.
The first time Pimblett appeared on many sports fans’ radars was in September 2021, after he was nearly knocked out by a shot from Luigi Vendramini before quickly knocking out the Italian in the first round. When Michael Bisping was ribbing him about the close call during the in-octagon interview, Pimblett uttered a sentence that has become synonymous with his career.
“I’m a Scouser,” Pimblett said, looking at the camera. “We don’t get knocked out.”
Since that evening at the UFC Apex, Pimblett’s rise both in and out of the Octagon has been meteoric. He still hasn’t lost a fight in the UFC, beating Rodrigo Vargas and Jordan Leavitt by rear-naked choke submission in back-to- back fights.
His next two fights saw him defeat Jared Gordon and Tony Ferguson by unanimous decision, both in Las Vegas and both accompanied by post-fight interviews that only raised his stock. Pimblett’s most recent fight, a vicious TKO of Michael Chandler at UFC 314 in April, was ultimately what solidified his position on a main card.
“It’s an honor,” Pimblett said. “It shows how much the UFC trusts me. They know me and Justin will put on a good fight. And it’s a world title fight. I’ve been saying it for 16 years now for this to happen, and it’s finally here.”
Gaethje, on the other hand, sees Pimblett as the final obstacle in the way of what could very well be the last title shot of his career. At 37 years old, that also means he knows the reality of what will happen to his stock if he falters on Saturday night. However, most people probably would have assumed Gaetjhe’s title prospects ended the moment he lost an all-time war to Max Holloway in spectacular fashion at UFC 300.
A lights-out performance against Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313 proved Gaethje still had plenty of gas left in his tank, but he still hadn’t done enough since his loss to Holloway to be deemed worthy of a title shot. A win Saturday makes that title shot all but official.
And while a win would make Gaethje a two-time UFC interim champion, fans know good and well what Gaethje thinks of those. Or at least what he thought.
When he won it the first time, he threw his belt on the canvas, but this time around he realizes the importance of what he’s about to embark on.
“I definitely won’t be (tossing the belt),” Gaethje said. “As I got older, I’m wiser, and I understand that an interim belt is the same exact thing as an undisputed belt on paper for my pay. And it certainly gives me the biggest fight possible next, so this is huge. Huge for my legacy.”
The co-main event will feature Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong in a bantamweight bout that will likely see the winner go on to face champion Petr Yan later in the year. Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes were also slated for a highly anticipated matchup on the card, but Harrison pulled out last week due to injury.
