By Yobel Petros ‘24
Chelsea vs Newcastle
Chelsea won a hard-fought victory at Stamford Bridge thanks to Kai Havertz’s spectacular late strike, which gave Newcastle their first loss in ten games. Chelsea got off to a strong start, with Andreas Christensen’s shot nearly missing the target after just two minutes, before Mason Mount’s curling free-kick kissed the side-netting. Newcastle dug in and generated opportunities of their own, with Dan Burn heading wide from Miguel Almiron’s cross on 34 minutes and Edouard Mendy pushing Miguel Almiron’s exquisite 25-yard volley away at full stretch on the stroke of half-time. After the half, the visitors continued to annoy Chelsea, with Havertz heading straight at Martin Dubravka just moments before Matty Longstaff’s dipping effort sailed over. At 89 minutes, Havertz finally broke the deadlock, scooping up Jorginho’s superb ball over the top and tapping home from close range to give Chelsea the win
Watford vs Southampton
Watford beat Southampton 2-1 thanks to Cucho Hernandez’s first-half brace, boosting their Premier League survival prospects. In the 14th minute, the Colombian took advantage of a weak pass to beat Fraser Forster and open the scoring with a goal. Shortly after the half-hour mark, he extended their lead by volleying Juraj Kucka’s cross into the bottom-right corner of the net for his fifth goal of the season. Che Adams flicked James Ward-free-kick Prowse’s on to Mohamed Elyounoussi at the back post to make it 2-1 on the stroke of half-time. To stop Kucka, Forster had to go all out, all the while Emmanuel Dennis’ shot went just wide, ending the chance for a comeback. Watford’s first win in five games moves them up to 18th place and level on points with Everton in 17th place.
Manchester United vs Tottenham
As Tottenham Hotspur were defeated in a 3-2 thriller at Old Trafford, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to push Manchester United into fourth place. With the trifecta, he put himself atop FIFA’s all-time scorers’ list. Ronaldo scored a fantastic long-range goal in the 12th minute to put the hosts ahead. On 35 minutes, Harry Kane’s penalty equalized the Spurs after Alex Telles handled Dejan Kulusevski’s cross beautifully to knot the score up at 1. Three minutes later, Ronaldo restored United’s lead by tapping in Jadon Sancho’s ball after a dazzling counter-attack. Spurs equalized for the second time on 72 minutes when Harry Maguire turned Sergio Reguilon’s cross into his own net. However, with eight minutes remaining, Ronaldo expertly headed home a Telles cross to set a new club and country record with his 807th career goal. It was also his second Premier League hat-trick, following his first in January 2008 against Newcastle United at home. Manchester United climbs to fourth place with 50 points after winning for the first time in three games. The Spurs remain in seventh place, five points behind the leaders, despite having played two fewer games.
Arsenal vs Leicester City
Arsenal reclaimed the fourth position with a 2-0 win over Leicester City, thanks to goals from Thomas Partey and Alexandre Lacazette in each half. Partey headed in Gabriel Martinelli’s corner at the near post for the game’s first goal in the 11th minute. Harvey Barnes put Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to the test twice before halftime, first burying his effort and then wonderfully turning away his close-range header. Following a VAR review, Lacazette scored a penalty to increase Arsenal’s lead on 59 minutes after Caglar Soyuncu was found to have touched another Partey header. Kasper Schmeichel denied substituting Emile Smith Rowe late in the game as Arsenal won their fifth league match in a row. Arsenal has 51 points, one more than fifth-placed Manchester United, who have played three more matches. With 33 points, Leicester drops to 12th place.