Newcastle defeated Tottenham 2-1 as Manchester United and Liverpool got ready for their Premier League matchup on Sunday. Chelsea was further frustrated for losing the lead in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
Following a wild close season, Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea have only triumphed once in his first three league games as the Italian manager.
After suffering a 2-1 loss at Servette on Thursday, Chelsea, who had been defeated by Manchester City the previous weekend, rallied for a 6-2 victory at Wolves the following weekend and managed to qualify for the UEFA Conference League group stage.
Despite their erratic start, former Leicester manager Maresca is adamant that his costly Chelsea makeover—which includes a number of new signings—is proceeding as planned.
The winger was introduced to the crowd before settling into the director’s box next to Blues co-owner Behdad Eghbali. Jadon Sancho’s loan move from Manchester United was the last component in Chelsea’s makeover since the previous season.
But Sancho can’t have been impressed by his new team as they failed to kill off Palace after Noni Madueke picked out Cole Palmer and his pass was slotted home by Nicolas Jackson in the 25th minute.
– Isak fires Newcastle –
Maresca was furious after Palace midfielder Will Hughes avoided a second yellow card for a foul on Palmer.
Looking for their first point this season after defeats against Brentford and West Ham, Palace made the most of that escape to draw level in the 53rd minute.
England midfielder Eberechi Eze unfurled a superb curling finish that flashed past Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez from 20 yards.
Eze’s eye-catching goal and a late close-range miss by Jackson ended Chelsea’s run of 14 successive wins against Palace in all competitions.
At St James’ Park, Wilson Odobert, Pape Sarr and Pedro Porro all wasted good chances for Tottenham in the early stages.
In the 37th minute, Newcastle took the lead spectacularly through a superb volley into the far corner from 10 yards out, which was produced by Harvey Barnes after Lloyd Kelly pulled the ball back.
In the 56th minute, Nick Pope, who had feebly parried James Maddison’s shot in the build-up to the goal, was caught off guard by Tottenham’s Dan Burn, a defender for Newcastle, who inadvertently turned the ball into his own net while attempting to clear.
After serving a suspension for breaking betting regulations, Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali made his Premier League debut more than ten months later.
In the 78th minute, Jacob Murphy scored a tap-in goal for Alexander Isak after latching onto Joelinton’s defence-splitting pass. This gave the Magpies their lead back.
Unbeaten Newcastle’s second win in three league games condemned Tottenham to a first defeat this term, with the north London derby against Arsenal next up after the international break.
Published by Ejoh Caleb
