(Football news) After a dramatic week for Chelsea, the Blues welcomed in-form Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge and snatched a 1-0 win through Kai Havertz in the 89th minute. It’s fair to say that Eddie Howe’s team deserved a point but Jorginho’s long pass to Havertz, whose fantastic first touch and finish was instrumental in helping win the match for the hosts. The German forward was lucky to be on the pitch after escaping a red card in the first half for an elbow on Dan Burn and could have easily scored his second goal in stoppage time when his deflected shot hit the crossbar.
Newcastle would consider themselves unlucky as they saw a clear penalty being waved away by referee David Coote and VAR John Brooks when Jacob Murphy was brought down by Trevoh Chalobah at the start of the second half. The Magpies almost took the lead as well when Miguel Almiron's effort was pushed away by Edouard Mendy at the end of the first half. The result means that Newcastle’s nine game unbeaten streak has finally come to an end and they are currently nine points above the relegation zone after Watford’s victory.
As for Chelsea, their hold on third place in the Premier League has become stronger after winning their fifth consecutive game. However, the concerns for the club lie beyond what happens on the pitch and it was the first game for the club since Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the United Kingdom government. The club isn’t allowed to sell tickets and many supporters were aware that it may be the last time they would watch Chelsea live for possibly a very long time.
Meanwhile at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal defeated Leicester City 2-0 with goals from Thomas Partey and Alexandre Lacazette. The result meant that the Gunners leapfrogged Manchester United to fourth place in the Premier League table with three games in hand while Brendan Rodgers' team are 12th. The visitors conceded from an area that has been their weakness all season as a left wing corner from Gabriel Martinelli was headed in by an unmarked Thomas Partey at the 11th minute. The Ghanian footballer could have scored his second goal when he hit the crossbar while Leicester slowly but surely grew into the game.
Harvey Barnes came close to scoring an equaliser for Leicester while Ben White made an important tackle to deny James Maddison. However, the clean sheet is largely attributed to Aaron Ramsdale, the goalkeeper expertly saved Barnes’ effort to keep his side in the game. Against the run of play, Arsenal were awarded a penalty when referee Anthony Taylor was asked to check the pitchside monitor by the VAR when Partey’s header touched Soyuncu's fingertips. Despite no red card being awarded, Lacazette made no mistake and ensured that Arsenal managed to secure their fifth consecutive win.
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