BOURNEMOUTH THRILLER ENDS IN DRAW AFTER MATETA HAT-TRICK HEROIC
Crystal Palace and Bournemouth draw 3-3 in a Premier League thriller. Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a penalty and missed a sitter after Ryan Christie's late goal looked to have won it for the Cherries.
After a wild match between two teams in form, the French striker missed a fantastic opportunity to win it for the Eagles by shooting over from eight yards out.
When Ryan Christie scored with one minute of regular time left, he believed he had propelled Bournemouth to the top of the Premier League—at least for a few hours.
However, Mateta scored the penalty to give Palace their tenth consecutive home win after Bafode Diakite was found to have fouled Marc Guehi at a corner.
However, Mateta fired the opportunity high over the crossbar when Eddie Nketiah gave him a chance to win it.
But after an exciting match between these two upwardly mobile sides, a draw was certainly a fair outcome.
The Cherries' young forward Junior Kroupi, who stole the show in the first half, will follow closely following Mateta, who got his France debut last week.
After scoring 22 goals in 30 games for Lorient the previous season, the 19-year-old was snatched from the French second level, and he made the transition seem easy.
Last season, there was no goal in either of these teams' league encounters, but Kroupi made sure that would not be the case this time around by scoring after only seven minutes.
He found it quickly, making his way home roughly six inches after Justin Kluivert's inswinging corner bounced off the far post and struck him.
After a strong run by the highly sought-after winger Antoine Semenyo, who misjudged Guehi's low cross and had Kroupi volley it home first, Bournemouth extended their lead.
When Marcos Senesi of Bournemouth was booked for bringing down Ismaila Sarr 30 yards away at the beginning of the second half, there was some minor disagreement.
Referee Jarrod Gillett had the guts to stay with his initial decision after seeing the replay screen, even though the VAR suggested a check for a red card for the denial of a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
After Mateta tucked in Daniel Munoz's cross as Palace cut the deficit in half, it appeared like the VAR had made the proper decision to overturn an incorrect offside flag.
Five minutes later, Mateta equalised by sliding in at the far post to score another Munoz cross.
Sub Nketiah redirected Mateta's shot into the net, giving Palace the ball once more, but he was rightfully sent out for offside.
Rather, the Cherries took the lead in the 89th minute when Christie turned in a low cross from Marcus Tavernier.
But after losing the opportunity for all three with the last kick, Mateta retained his composure from the spot to secure a point and then held his head in his hands.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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