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Player taking a corner kick
Expertly taken goals from Nicolas Jackson, captain Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer earned Chelsea a 3-0 home win over Aston Villa on Sunday, lifting them to joint second in the Premier League table.
Playing free-flowing football, the home side took advantage of a tired-looking and error-ridden Aston Villa side who have now failed to win in eight games in all competitions.
The Londoners made their mark early when Senegal striker Jackson neatly side-footed a Marc Cucurella cross from the left, knocking it in off the post in the seventh minute.
Enzo Maresca’s side took advantage of questionable defending in the 36th minute when Fernandez was fed by Palmer before steadying himself and firing home between Matty Cash and Ezri Konsa.
Palmer outdid both his teammates, however, lofting an exquisite left-foot shot into the top corner of substitute goalkeeper Robin Olsen’s net in the 83rd minute.
“I think if I go out and enjoy my football, the goals and assists will come,” Palmer told Sky Sports. “It’s all down to the manager, the desire that he puts into the sessions and what the players give to him.”
England striker Ollie Watkins had the best of Villa’s chances but Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez closed him down one-on-one in the 15th minute.
In the last minute of the first half, he failed to fully make contact with the ball with the goal at his mercy and Sanchez made the save.
Villa, who drew 0-0 in midweek with Juventus in the Champions League, had to replace Argentina keeper Emiliano Martinez with Robin Olsen at halftime after he injured himself diving to retrieve a ball he had passed in error to the feet of Jackson.
With tails up, Chelsea’s substitutes might have added to the score late on but for a double-save by Olsen from Joao Felix and Noni Madueke, closely followed by an attempt from Christopher Nkunku who sent his shot wide.
Chelsea moved joint second, level on points and goal difference with Arsenal, before the late kickoff between table-toppers Liverpool and fifth-placed Manchester City. Villa dropped to 11th.
Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee bagged two goals apiece as Manchester United thumped Everton 4-0 on Sunday in new manager Ruben Amorim’s first Premier League match at Old Trafford.
United’s biggest victory margin in a league game since a 5-1 win over Leeds United in 2021 lifted them three spots to ninth in the table after 13 games.
Rashford put United ahead in the 34th minute when he darted in to fire home Bruno Fernandes’s corner with a side-footed volley that sailed in off the outstretched foot of Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite.
“It is a nice result,” Rashford told Sky Sports. “It is important with a new coach and a new way of playing, when we are still learning. We have to back up this performance and win in midweek (on Wednesday at Arsenal).
“We all, as individuals, want to get back to our best and then push to improve so even in the bad moments you are doing the right thing.”
The goal ignited Amorim’s side, who dominated the rest of the match, and Zirkzee doubled the lead in the 41st minute when Amad Diallo intercepted Jordan Pickford’s goal kick and the Dutch forward fired home Fernandes’s cross from close range.
Rashford, who has netted three goals in three games since Amorim took charge, completed his brace 20 seconds after halftime when he ran on to a through ball from Amad who caused Everton problems all afternoon.
The Ivory Coast forward stripped the ball off James Tarkowski in the 64th minute and drove forward before feeding Zirkzee to slot in his second.
Delighted United fans sang Amorim’s name all afternoon. The Portuguese, who barely cracked a smile throughout the game, is unbeaten in three matches since taking charge, including a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town and a 3-2 Europa League win over Bodo/Glimt.
They are unbeaten in the seven games across all competitions since Erik ten Hag was sacked as manager on Oct. 28.
“The connection is going to build and grow the more we get used to him,” said Rashford who had not scored two goals in a league game since February, 2023.
“He’s (Amorim’s) come in in a busy period and hopefully the connection keeps building and growing. He’s come in with a great attitude and it’s passed onto the players.”
Struggling Everton, who have not scored in four matches, are two points above the relegation zone in 15th place.
