Newcastle United 4 Luton Town 4
Harvey Barnes emerged from his injury nightmare to spare Newcastle’s blushes as they fought back from two goals down to deny Premier League newcomers Luton victory in a 4-4 thriller.
The Magpies’ summer signing was called from the bench with his side trailing 4-2 at St James’ Park and after Kieran Trippier had given them hope, it was he who smashed home a 73rd-minute equaliser in his first appearance since September.
In a full-blooded encounter, the home side led 1-0 and then 2-1 through Sean Longstaff’s double, but after Gabriel Osho and the excellent Ross Barkley had levelled, Carlton Morris’ penalty and a fourth from midweek hat-trick hero Elijah Adebayo looked to have put the visitors in the driving seat.
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Newcastle’s fightback extended into 10 minutes of stoppage time at the end of a pulsating contest as they threw everything they had at the search for a winner, but the visitors stood firm to take a more than deserved point from a hugely entertaining draw.
The Magpies went ahead with just seven minutes gone when 17-year-old Lewis Miley sprayed the ball out to Trippier, who looked up before picking out the fast-arriving Longstaff and watched as he fired past keeper Thomas Kaminski.
To their credit, the Hatters swiftly set about the task of trying to force their way back into the game with Chiedozie Ogbene repeatedly making life intensely uncomfortable for Dan Burn.
They were back in it with 21 minutes gone when, after Sven Botman had been penalised for a trip on Adebayo, Morris turned Barkley’s free-kick back across goal and Osho headed past keeper Martin Dubravka off the underside of the crossbar.
Luton’s joy was fleeting and after Kaminski could only parry Anthony Gordon’s shot, Longstaff controlled the rebound and drilled into the back of the net.
However, the home side succumbed once again five minutes before the break when Barkley set Alfie Doughty away down the left before making his way into the penalty area to fire into an empty net after Dubravka had turned the wide-man’s cross into his path.
Rob Edwards’ men took a 59th-minute lead when, following a lengthy VAR review, referee Tom Bramall was advised to award a penalty against Burn after he had dragged back Ogbene and Morris scored from the spot at the second time of asking having initially beaten Dubravka before the whistle had gone.
The Hatters were in dreamland three minutes later when, after another pacy break, Barkley slid the ball into the path of Adebayo, who beat Dubravka emphatically to make it 4-2.
However, the Magpies refused to accept defeat and reduced the deficit with 23 minutes to go when Trippier volleyed Bruno Guimaraes’ cross past Kaminski, and there was more to come when Miley robbed Barkley and fed Barnes, who steered a left-foot drive into the bottom corner to level.
Jacob Murphy was unable to convert another inviting Bruno cross at the far post with five minutes remaining and Ogbene volleyed straight at Dubravka deep into added time as the spoils were shared.
Everton 2 Tottenham 2
Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite’s added-time header snatched a 2-2 draw against Tottenham to spoil two-goal Richarlison’s return to Goodison Park.
The visitors appeared on course to make it six wins in seven after quality strikes from the Brazil international, only for the Toffees’ 21-year-old centre-back, one of their players of the season, to pop up at the far post with his first goal of the campaign.
A point was as much a reward for Sean Dyche’s side’s determination as it was a punishment for Spurs not finishing off their opponents when they had the chance.
Richarlison chose not to celebrate his eighth and ninth goals in the last eight league matches in deference to fans who less than two years ago adored him for the part he played in their first escape against relegation.
But there were wild scenes in the fourth minute of additional time when Tottenham defender Cristian Romero could only flick on James Garner’s inswinging free-kick and Branthwaite ghosted in to nod past Guglielmo Vicario, who endured a difficult afternoon dealing with Everton’s set pieces.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s struggles also continued as he thought he had ended a 17-game drought extending back to October by nodding in from close range for the Toffees’ first equaliser only for the goal to be credited to Jack Harrison just before the start of the second half.
There were no such doubts about Richarlison’s well-taken goals; the first after four minutes when he swept home a volley after Idrissa Gana Gueye – injuries meaning he went came straight back in the side following Senegal’s African Nations Cup exit – had allowed Destiny Udogie to run beyond him to collect Timo Werner’s pass.
But instead of pressing home their early advantage Spurs were pushed back, with Harrison’s embarrassment at missing from a couple of yards spared by an offside flag.
Everton’s best opportunities came from set pieces, particularly with Dwight McNeil targeting Vicario with inswinging corners from the right.
It was one of those which eventually paid off as Vicario, under pressure from Garner, failed to deal with a corner under his own crossbar and James Tarkowski headed back across goal for Calvert-Lewin to nod in.
Or so he thought until intervention from the Premier League’s goal accreditation panel.
Blissfully unaware the Everton striker now had a spring in his step and only just failed to get on the end of a Harrison cross having been crowded out by centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van der Ven.
Everton were actually in the ascendancy when Richarlison put Spurs ahead again; James Maddison and Werner combined down the left with the latter teeing up the Brazilian who, with Harrison slow to react, had time to curl a shot across and beyond Jordan Pickford.
Vicario’s legs blocked Ben Godfrey’s header and Vitalii Mykolenko’s volley was parried late in the half but Tottenham’s momentum continued after the break with Werner denied by Pickford in a one-on-one only to be flagged offside.
Pickford made a better save when it mattered to deny Richarlison his hat-trick and the visitors should have put the game beyond doubt.
That they did not should have seen Youssef Chermiti make them pay only for him to stab a shot straight at Vicario and, after fellow substitute Beto had two penalty claims turned down, up stepped Branthwaite to deliver the painful blow.
Everton are still without a league win since mid-December but the manner in which they secured a point should do wonders for morale. However, a trip to Manchester City now awaits.
Sheffield United 0 Aston Villa 5
Aston Villa returned to winning ways in style as they put Sheffield United to the sword with four goals in the opening 30 minutes in a 5-0 romp at Bramall Lane.
Villa’s Premier League top-four hopes had faltered after winning just one of their last five matches but Unai Emery’s men put that right to move above Tottenham and back into fourth.
Goals from John McGinn, Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey and Youri Tielemans before the half-hour put them in dreamland and Alex Moreno’s second-half goal made it a day to remember for Villa, who registered their biggest Premier League away win since 2004.
At one point they would have had history in their sights as they had more than 45 minutes to try and find four more goals which would have equalled the record victory in the Premier League era, but they took their foot off the gas.
Still, it was bad enough for Sheffield United on another embarrassing day for the club, just four months after they were beaten 8-0 by Newcastle at Bramall Lane.
Boss Chris Wilder will surely know his side will be playing in the Championship next season as they have taken just 10 points from 23 games and are the same number away from safety.
Villa will hope to use this as a springboard for the rest of the campaign as they eye Champions League qualification for the first time.
It was the vision of Douglas Luiz that enabled them to take a two-goal lead within 16 minutes.
First, the midfielder sliced open Sheffield United’s defence with a fine pass which set Watkins through on goal. The England international lifted the ball over the on-rushing Wes Foderingham and onto the post, with McGinn tucking the rebound into an empty net.
Luiz’s assist for the second goal four minutes later was even more eye-catching as he again played in Watkins with an outrageous pass with the outside of his boot and this time the striker found the bottom corner.
It was 3-0 four minutes later with another goal of quality as Bailey cut inside and whipped a brilliant left-footed strike into the top corner.
A section of the home fans were fearing a repeat of that Newcastle nightmare and left the ground and even more headed for the exit 10 minutes later when Tielemans made it 4-0 with another picturebook goal.
The Belgian found acres of space on the edge of the area from a corner, took a touch and then rifled in off the underside of the crossbar to complete a dream half-hour.
Villa needed 83 seconds of the second half to make it five, as some slapdash defending from Auston Trusty allowed Watkins to tee up Moreno to volley home from close range.
United were at least able to stem the tide and threatened to get on the scoresheet but Emiliano Martinez saved from Anel Ahmedhodzic and Jack Robinson.
Their misery was complete late on in the game when Vini Souza poked home from a set-piece but VAR ruled it out for offside.
Brighton 4 Crystal Palace 1
Roy Hodgson cut a forlorn figure as Crystal Palace slumped to a dispiriting 4-1 defeat at their fierce rivals Brighton in the Premier League.
Goals from Lewis Dunk, Jack Hinshelwood, Facundo Buonanotte and Joao Pedro once again left the future of the veteran Eagles boss under scrutiny.
Palace sacked their previous manager, Patrick Vieira, following a 1-0 defeat in this fixture last season so Hodgson, on a run of just four wins from 17 matches, could be on thin ice.
The 76-year-old is hamstrung by the absence of Eberechi Eze through injury while his other key man, Michael Olise, was only deemed fit enough for the bench.
Yet when Olise was sent on, at half-time, his side were already 3-0 down, and the winger lasted just eight minutes before pulling up again.
A late goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta could not mask the flaws in Hodgson’s ailing side, and the loss of captain Marc Guehi to a first-half knee injury just compounded a thoroughly rotten day for the Eagles.
If Brighton were suffering a hangover from their 4-0 midweek drubbing at Luton, they were over it in double quick time.
With their first attack and just two minutes in, Tariq Lamptey forced a corner down the left, Pascal Gross swung the ball in and Dunk gave Joachim Andersen a gentle shove as he rose above him to glance into the net.
Palace were perpetually living dangerously at the back and when a Pedro cross found Buonanotte, the shortest player on the pitch planted a header straight at Dean Henderson.
Their cause was not helped by the knee injury suffered by Guehi, who looked distraught when he limped off midway through the first half to be replaced by deadline-day signing Adam Wharton.
Guehi’s absence was keenly felt when 18-year-old Hinshelwood, not exactly the height of a basketball player himself, nipped in to head home a cross from Lamptey.
Just 86 seconds later it was three after debutant Wharton was dispossessed by Gross, who strolled forward before slipping in Buonanotte to score.
Dismayed Palace fans unfurled their anti-board banner, which first got an airing during the 5-0 hammering at Arsenal a fortnight ago.
It was easy to see where their frustrations lie. They had to wait until first-half stoppage time for their side’s first shot in anger, a long-range effort from Jefferson Lerma which was deflected wide.
When Olise, who was presumably not remotely fit, limped off, chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ emanated from the away end. The Brighton fans, never shy to revel in their rivals’ misfortune, responded with ‘Super Roy Hodgson’.
A brief, belated Palace flurry saw Mateta head home a cross from Andersen, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Pedro played a one-two with Danny Welbeck and slotted home to finish the Eagles off.
Burnley 2 Fulham 2
David Fofana came off the bench to mark his home debut with two goals as his stoppage-time equaliser earned Burnley a point in a 2-2 draw against Fulham.
The Cottagers, without an away victory since the opening day of the season and winless in the league at Turf Moor since 1951, appeared to be cruising after goals from Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Muniz had them 2-0 up inside 21 minutes.
But on-loan Chelsea striker Fofana, on as a substitute just after the hour, got them back into it with a 71st-minute header before bundling in the leveller in the first minute of stoppage time – equalling in 20 minutes his number of goals for Union Berlin in 17 games during a previous loan this season.
Vincent Kompany’s side remain seven points adrift of safety, but this ended a run of 19 Premier League games in which Burnley had lost after conceding first, and the mood inside Turf Moor improved dramatically after Fofana’s late intervention.
Kompany’s side, whose last league win was away to Fulham on December 23rd, began well and kept the Cottagers inside their own half. After Lyle Foster dispossessed Tosin Adarabioyo it took a superb recovery tackle from Tim Ream to deny Wilson Odobert a clear shot at goal.
But it fell apart very quickly. Kompany gave a debut to Lorenz Assignon, who arrived on loan from Rennes on deadline day, but the right-back needlessly conceded a 17th-minute corner when he shepherded the ball out of play rather than hook it clear.
The mistake was instantly punished as Andreas Pereira whipped the ball in and Palhinha turned it goalwards, with his header beating James Trafford with the help of a deflection off Sander Berge.
It got worse four minutes later when Antonee Robinson’s long punt up field turned into the perfect ball for Muniz to score his first Premier League goal.
The 22-year-old Brazilian, starting in place of the injured Raul Jimenez with new boy Armando Broja on the bench, was played onside by Vitinho as he got goalside of Hjalmar Ekdal, running at Trafford before lifting the ball over the exposed goalkeeper to a chorus of boos from the Turf Moor crowd.
Ekdal was hooked at half-time as Maxime Esteve, Burnley’s other deadline day signing on loan from Montpellier, came on for his debut.
Josh Brownhill, making his 100th Premier League appearance, had a shot which picked up a deflection on its way to Bernd Leno, but it was Fulham who continued to probe to the frustration of the home fans.
Willian’s curling low shot was pushed aside by Trafford, who then repelled Adarabioyo’s powerful header from the resulting corner. Soon after, the goalkeeper made a smart save to deny Muniz at his near post.
Fofana came on for his home debut alongside Johann Berg Gudmundsson just after the hour, and soon set up Brownhill, who blazed wastefully over.
Moments later, the Ivorian was celebrating his first Burnley goal. Assignon led a breakaway down the left, and sent in a cross which sailed over Leno to leave Fofana to head into an open goal.
Marco Silva responded by giving Broja his debut but his decision to reinforce the defence with Kenny Tete backfired.
The Dutchman missed what looked a routine interception of Gudmundsson’s ball forward and it ran through to Odobert to send in a low cross, and Fofana beat Ream to the the near post to divert it home.
The goal survived a VAR check for handball, to the delight of the home crowd and the relief of Kompany.
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