Aston Villa defeats Newcastle to keep title chase alive while Chelsea rises to top four
Aston Villa narrowed the gap to four points behind the Premier League leaders by securing a solid 2-0 triumph over Newcastle, as Chelsea advanced into the top four spots during Sundays matches.
Arsenal, currently at the top, have the opportunity to extend their lead over both Villa and Manchester City to seven points when they face Manchester United at home later on.
Villa recovered strongly from their unexpected 1-0 loss to Everton at home the previous weekend, maintaining their position in the hunt for the title.
Emi Buendia gave Unai Emerys side the lead with a stunning long-range shot in the 19th minute, marking Villas first victory at St James Park since 2005.
Lacking creativity without their injured skipper Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle suffered a setback that hurts their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
Ollie Watkins sealed the win for Villa by heading in a cross from Lucas Digne just two minutes before the final whistle, with the England forward adding to the scoreline.
Newcastle dropped to ninth place, yet they remain only three points adrift of the top five, a position that should secure Champions League football.
Should Villa fail to claim their first league crown since 1981, they are still on track to return to Europes top competition, holding an 11-point buffer over Manchester United in sixth.
Chelsea added to Crystal Palaces woes with a 3-1 success at Selhurst Park.
Oliver Glasner vowed to work hard to reverse the Eagles poor form, even as he confirmed his departure from the club at the seasons end when his contract concludes.
The Austrian manager expressed anger over the clubs decision to let captain Marc Guehi join Manchester City earlier in the week, and there is a risk of losing key forward Jean-Philippe Mateta before the transfer deadline.
Mateta squandered Palaces most promising early opportunity by shooting directly at goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
However, the hosts struggled to regain composure following a poor backpass by Jaydee Canvot, which allowed Estevao to break free and slot home Chelseas first goal on 34 minutes.
The Brazilian winger then assisted countryman Joao Pedro, who raced past the Palace backline to make it 2-0 for the Blues shortly after the interval.
Enzo Fernandez converted a penalty to complete the scoring, giving Liam Rosenior his fourth win in five outings since assuming control at Stamford Bridge.
Palaces troubles deepened as England midfielder Adam Wharton received a red card for accumulating two yellows.
With 11 straight games without success, the Eagles now glance nervously behind them, sitting just eight points clear of the bottom three.
Nottingham Forest significantly improved their prospects of staying up by handing Brentford only their second loss at home this term.
West Hams win against Sunderland the day before increased the scrutiny on Sean Dyches squad.
Yet they hit back to create a five-point cushion from relegation danger, prevailing 2-0 away at Brentford with strikes from Igor Jesus and Taiwo Awoniyi.