Premier League review: Norwich beat Brentford; Chelsea held by Burnley
A review of Saturday's action in the Premier League, where Norwich beat Brentford and Chelsea were held by Burnley.
Results
Chelsea 1-1 Burnley
Matej Vydra pounced to stun sloppy Chelsea and scramble Burnley a 1-1 Premier League draw at Stamford Bridge.
Czech Republic forward Vydra climbed off the bench to convert the Clarets’ only chance, cancelling out Kai Havertz’s 33rd-minute effort that had seemingly put the league leaders on course for a fifth-straight top-flight win.
The hosts hogged total control for 75 minutes, only for a short lapse in concentration and intensity to cost them two points.
Thomas Tuchel’s men will still see out the weekend top of the Premier League pile, but Liverpool will have the chance to cut the lead to one point with victory at West Ham on Sunday.
Brentford 1-2 Norwich
Norwich finally broke their win duck as goals from Mathias Normann and Teemu Pukki fired them to a 2-1 victory at Brentford.
A magnificent solo goal from Normann and Pukki’s penalty secured a first triumph of the season for the beleaguered Canaries.
They held on for the final half an hour, after Rico Henry hauled Brentford back into the match, for a first away victory in the Premier League in almost two years since beating Everton at Goodison Park in November 2019.
Their performance was a far cry from their last trip to west London, the 7-0 hammering by Chelsea a fortnight ago, and will lift some of the pressure on manager Daniel Farke.
They were helped by a below-par display from Brentford, whose Premier League honeymoon period is well and truly over after four straight defeats.
Crystal Palace 2-0 Wolves
Wilfried Zaha and Conor Gallagher put talk over their international futures to one side to fire Crystal Palace to a 2-0 victory at home to Wolves with a little help from VAR.
Zaha had to refute claims he had been considering his future with Ivory Coast on Friday – after comments made by international boss Patrice Beaumelle during the week – but at his spiritual home of Selhurst Park the Eagles attacker opened the scoring to help Patrick Vieira’s men make it back-to-back wins.
VAR had to confirm the 61st-minute goal after an initial offside decision and then downgraded a Wolves penalty to a free-kick before Gallagher, who had to settle for another England Under-21 call-up rather than a place in the senior squad, saw a deflected shot find the net to extend the hosts’ unbeaten run to six games.
Brighton 1-1 Newcastle
Isaac Hayden’s equaliser forced a 1-1 draw at 10-man Brighton that lifted Newcastle off the foot of the Premier League table in front of their prospective new boss Eddie Howe.
Brighton had taken the lead from the penalty spot halfway through the first half, with Leandro Trossard sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
Against the run of play, Newcastle struck a leveller in the 65th minute when the ball fell to Hayden, who volleyed into the back of the net.
Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was sent off at the death for impeding Callum Wilson, with defender Lewis Dunk forced to briefly take the gloves and go between the sticks, yet the Seagulls held on.
Former Bournemouth manager Howe was in the crowd at the Amex Stadium as the Magpies edged closer to making an appointment.
The 43-year-old was pictured sitting in the stands next to Amanda Staveley, whose consortium bought out Mike Ashley last month, with Newcastle understood to have agreed a deal in principle with Howe.
Manchester United 0-2 Manchester City
Under-fire Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer faces fresh scrutiny and pressure after Manchester City provided their latest Old Trafford humbling.
A fortnight on from the embarrassing 5-0 home humiliation at the hands of rivals Liverpool, the Red Devils fell to another one-sided defeat as they returned to the scene of the crime for the 186th Manchester derby.
Pep Guardiola’s men cruised to a victory far more comfortable than the 2-0 scoreline suggested, but Eric Bailly’s own goal and a preventable Bernardo Silva effort was enough to ease past United.